2016 Gulf Coast Showcase opening round matchups announced

The 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase takes place over the Thanksgiving weekend from Nov. 25-27 at Germain Arena in Southwest Florida. The tournament features eight teams including two-time national champion Baylor, 2016 national runner-up Syracuse as well as Kent State, DePaul, Western Kentucky, Ohio State, George Washington and 2016 WNIT runner-up Florida Gulf Coast.

Syracuse faces GWU in its opener. The Colonials enter the season with a new head coach, Jennifer Rizzotti.

“The level of competition that we will face at the Gulf Coast Showcase is second to none with seven postseason teams from a year ago,” said Rizzotti. “We look forward to this early challenge in our schedule, which will undoubtedly help prepare us for the tough competition we will face in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season.”

Tournament schedule:

• 11 a.m. ET – Baylor vs. Kent State
• 1:30 p.m. ET – DePaul vs. Western Kentucky
• 5:00 or 7:30 p.m. ET – Ohio State vs. FGCU
• 5:00 or 7:30 p.m. ET – Syracuse vs. George Washington