Aug. 17, 2012
2012-13 Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Schedule 
Nashville — The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team has released its 2012-13 schedule, in conjunction with the release of the Southeastern Conference slate, on Friday, August 17.
A challenging schedule awaits Head Coach Melanie Balcomb’s squad which returns 10 of 11 players and 97.6% of its scoring from a season ago. Among the returners for Vanderbilt are 2012 SEC Scoring Champion Christina Foggie and four other players who received All-SEC honors.
The Commodores will play 16 of 29 games against 14 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament, WNIT or WBI in 2012. Other highlights include a trip to the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, where Vanderbilt will face Virginia and Florida State, and games at Oklahoma and Southern Cal.
The home schedule is higlighted by the annual visit from Tennessee, as well as visits from Kentucky, Arkansas and Texas A&M. All four of those teams were in the NCAA Tournament in 2011. Kentucky and Tennessee both fell one win shy of the Final Four, Texas A&M advanced to the Sweet 16 and Arkansas fell in the second round to the Aggies.
Both Texas A&M and Missouri, the newest memebrs of the Southeastern Conference, will visit Memorial in 2013. Starting this season, each of the league’s teams will play 16 games, facing each team once and three teams twice. Vanderbilt and Tennessee will continue to play twice annually, while the other two opponents are random. This season, Vanderbilt will play Texas A&M and Ole Miss twice.
“Our non-conference schedule is going to challenge our team early and prepare us for the battles we’ll face in the nation’s best conference, the SEC,” Balcomb said. “With five opponents who played in postseason, several challenge road games and an in-season tournament (San Juan Shootout) that will be one of the most competitive in the country, I am confident this schedule will help us be the team we want to be in March.”
The slate opens on November 10 when defending Southland Conference champion McNeese State will visit Memorial Gym. That day will be part of a doubleheader with the men’s basketball team, which will be opening its season against Nicholls State. The Commodores will then travel across Music City to visit Lipscomb on November 12 before hosting UAB on November 15.
On November 18, Vanderbilt travels to Dayton. The Atlantic 10’s Flyers were an NCAA Tournament team a season ago. The Commodores will then return home for a pair of games with Austin Peay (November 28) and Tennessee Tech (December 1) before traveling north on Interstate 65 to face Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are the most common out-of-conference opponent in Vanderbilt history, with the Commodores leading the series, 20-12.
After returning home for the first-ever meeting with Hartford, a WNIT participant from a season ago, on December 6, Vanderbilt will travel to Norman, Okla., on December 16, to face Oklahoma. The Commodores topped the Sooners, 78-66, last season in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament championship game at Memorial Gym.
College of Charleston will visit Memorial on December 22 for the final home, non-conference game, before the Commodores make their longest trip of the season when they face Southern Cal on December 29. It will be the first meeting between the Commodores and the Women of Troy.
Vanderbilt will open SEC play with a home game on Thursday, January 3, with a visit from Mississippi State. After opening at home, three of the next four are on the road. The Commodores visit Ole Miss on January 6 and 2012 NCAA participantSouth Carolina on January 10. Vanderbilt will be looking to avenge a pair of losses to the Gamecocks from last season.
After returning home to host Arkansas on January 13, Vanderbilt travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU on January 20. Both the Razorbacks and Lady Tigers were NCAA teams a season ago.
The Commodores return home for the annual showdown with Tennessee on Thursday, January 24, before playing another pair of road games. They visit Alabama on January 27, followed by a trip to Texas A&M on Thursday, January 31.
February opens with three-straight home games at Memorial Gym. Ole Miss visits on Sunday, February 3, followed by 2012 Elite Eight participant Kentucky on Sunday, February 10, and the first-ever visit from Missouri on February 14.
The Commodores follow-up the three-game homestand with a pair of tough road games. The annual trip east to Knoxville to face the Lady Vols is on Sunday, February 17. That contest is followed by a trip south to face Florida, yet another NCAA team, in Gainesville on February 21.
Texas A&M will make its first visit as an SEC member to Memorial Gym on Sunday, February 24, followed by Auburn on Thursday, February 28. The regular season concludes with a trip to Georgia on Sunday, March 3. Vanderbilt and Georgia, who have traditionally found themselves neck-and-neck in the SEC standings, split a pair of meetings last season.
On the road, Vanderbilt will travel over 7,200 miles with trips ranging in distance from 3.8 miles (Lipscomb) to 1,780 miles (Southern Cal).
All Commodore games will again be broadcast live on WNSR 560 AM with veteran play-by-play announcer Charlie Mattos on the call for his 19th season.
Start times and television broadcasts will be announced in conjunction with the SEC’s broadcast partners in the coming weeks.
Season tickets start as low as $50 (less than $3.50 per game) and are available on VUCommodores.com or by calling 615-323-GOLD (4653).
Vanderbilt will give fans a first-look at the team on Saturday, November 3, when they host Alabama-Huntsville in an exhibition contest (time TBA).