The eighth-ranked Lady Lions are hoping to use a strong nonconference schedule to prepare for the NCAA Tournament this March, starting with Howard at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Their nonconference schedule ranges all the way to the University of Connecticut, which Penn State will face on Dec. 6 at UConn. The Huskies, who are currently ranked second in the Associated Press Poll, is the team that sent the Lady Lions home last March in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
Even though there are high-power teams ahead for the Lady Lions, coach Coquese Washington said Wednesday that her team is a focused bunch and it won’t overlook any team.
“Our nonconference schedule is definitely going to challenge us and it starts right away starting with Howard,’ Washington said. ‘We follow that up with going on the road with Texas A&M, you know another top 12, 13 team in the country.’
Added Washington: ‘We get after it with a bang. Throughout the nonconference we’re being challenged by quality opponents, NCAA tournament-type opponents. We want to have that experience so that when we get to postseason play we will have seen some of the best the nation has to offer and that will help us, we hope, have success in postseason play.”
