Baylor 2018-19 women's basketball non-conference schedule released

Baylor women’s basketball announced its competitive non-conference schedule Wednesday for the upcoming 2018-19 campaign. The 11-game slate is accompanied by two exhibitions, and the Lady Bears will face three top-15 teams from the final 2017-18 USA Today Coaches Poll and six teams that made trips to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Baylor heads to South Carolina – ranked No. 6 in last season’s final poll – as a part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, Dec. 2 in Columbia, S.C. Less than two weeks later, the Lady Bears square off at Stanford Dec. 15. The Cardinal finished ranked No. 13 after a 24-11 season that ended with a loss in the Sweet 16.

To cap off the challenging non-conference slate, Baylor plays host to 11-time NCAA champion UConn Jan. 3 in Waco. The Huskies finished No. 3 in last year’s final rankings with their lone loss (36-1) in the NCAA Final Four to eventual national champion Notre Dame.

“Our non-conference schedule is loaded with solid programs that will challenge us at home, on neutral floors and on the road,” said 19th-year head coach Kim Mulkey. “The level of competition throughout will prepare us for the road ahead with Big 12 and NCAA Tournament opponents.”

In addition, the Lady Bears will play host to two exhibition games with Langston (Oct. 25) and Texas A&M-Commerce (Nov. 1) before two regular-season home contests with 2018 NCAA Tournament participants Nicholls State (Nov. 6) and Saint Francis (Nov. 8).

From there, Baylor gets the opportunity to face Arizona State at the Bee Holdzil Fighting Scouts Event Center on the Navajo Reservation in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Nov. 11. After a home contest with Southern University (Nov. 15), the Lady Bears will participate in the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas, taking on 2018 NCAA Tournament participant South Dakota State and Georgetown on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, respectively.

Baylor will also play host to two December contests against Morehead State Dec. 12 and UTRGV Dec. 31.

The Lady Bears are coming off a 33-2 season in 2017-18 and the program’s 13th NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.

Baylor returns all-Americans Kalani Brown (Sr.) and Lauren Cox (Jr.), junior Juicy Landrum and sophomores Didi Richards, Alexis Morris and Moon Ursin. Trinity Oliver comes back as a redshirt freshman after receiving a medical hardship for last season.

Mulkey and her coaching staff boasts the nation’s top recruiting class for the 2018-19 season by espnW HoopGurlz with Aquira DeCosta, Queen Egbo, NaLyssa Smith, Honesty Scott-Grayson and Caitlin Bickle joining the fold. Along with the five freshmen, graduate transfer Chloe Jackson of LSU will be a fresh face for the Lady Bears.