The Stony Brook women’s basketball schedule for the 2015-16 season was released Tuesday morning. The Seawolves, who return three of their four leading scorers from last season, face a difficult 13-game non-conference slate, including bouts with power-conference teams Ole Miss and Syracuse.
The first game of the season will be on Friday, Nov. 13, when the Seawolves will take on the Iona Gaels at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Stony Brook will look to avenge a 73-62 loss last season that took place in a road game against Iona.
Following the season opener, the Seawolves will be on the road for three games, facing Hofstra, Saint Peter’s and Columbia.
The matchup against the Hofstra Pride will take place on Nov. 17 in Hempstead, where Long Island bragging rights will be on the line against a talented Pride team that ranked in the top-100 in RPI last season.
Stony Brook’s games against Saint Peter’s and Columbia are rematches of two games last season. The Seawolves defeated Saint Peter’s 56-40 in Stony Brook 2014 home opener and bested the Columbia Lions, 82-68, two games later.
On Nov. 27, the Seawolves will host the Ole Miss Rebels for a 2 p.m. Black Friday tilt. The Rebels will be the first SEC school, men’s or women’s, to ever play a basketball game in Stony Brook. The Rebels ranked No. 94 in RPI last season and made it to the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
After a home game against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, the Seawolves go on another three-game road trip in early December, as they face Cornell, Syracuse and Yale. Cornell and Yale represent two of the four Ivy League opponents Stony Brook will face.
The Dec. 6 game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse will feature the best opponent on Stony Brook’s 2015-2016 schedule. The Orange went 11-5 in the ACC last season and were a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament.
On Dec. 14, the Seawolves have a home game against Morgan State followed by a road game on Dec. 18 against Wagner. Last season, the Seawolves defeated the Morgan State Bears 50-48, but lost to the Wagner Seahawks 76-70.
The non-conference schedule concludes with a pair of home games against LIU Brooklyn and Harvard on Dec. 21 and Dec. 30, respectively.
For Stony Brook, the conference schedule kicks off against Binghamton at the IFCU Arena on Jan. 6 as the Seawolves look to improve on their 10-6 America East record from last season.
The Seawolves will first play their arch-rival Albany on Jan. 21 in Albany. The four-time defending champion Great Danes will then come to Stony Brook on Feb. 17.
Stony Brook has a home game with UMBC on Feb. 11. The Retrievers eliminated the Seawolves in the conference tournament last season, winning 49-47 to end the Seawolves’ America East title hopes.
Maine will visit IFCU Arena on February 20. The Black Bears shared the regular season conference title with Albany last season, sporting a 14-2 America East record.
With Stony Brook falling in the America East championship in 2013 and then being upset in the first round of 2014, the Seawolves have a lot to play for heading into their new season.
