June 1, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -

The Pitt women’s basketball team will have an exciting home schedule as the Panthers host 2009 NCAA Champion Connecticut, and runner up Louisville, as a part of their 16-game Big East schedule for the 2009-10 season, the league announced Monday.

Each Big East team will play 16 conference games including seven home opponents, and seven road opponents, while one team will serve as a home and away foe. During league regular season competition, Pitt will face 14 of the league opponents once and will meet up with rival West Virginia twice.

Home opponents at the Petersen Events Center include 2009 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 participants Connecticut, Louisville and Rutgers and WNIT participants Georgetown, St. John’s, Syracuse and West Virginia, as well as Seton Hall.

The Panthers’ 2009-10 road opponents include NCAA participants DePaul, Notre Dame and Villanova; WNIT participants Marquette, USF and the Mountaineers, as well as Cincinnati and Providence.

The 2008-09 basketball season was a memorable one for the Big East. The league had a consistent presence in the national polls and RPI rankings. This past season saw the league capture both the NCAA Championship and the WNIT Championship titles, becoming the only conference to win both in the same season. The league had two teams playing for the national title in Connecticut and Louisville, while USF was the WNIT champ.

Along with the Panthers, Connecticut, Louisville and Rutgers advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2009. Pitt played to its best record in school history with a 25-8 mark and senior guard Shavonte Zellous was honored as Pitt’s first All-American by the Associated Press.

In ESPN.com’s 64 teams to watch in 2009-10, Pitt was named No. 26, despite losing seniors Xenia Stewart and Zellous to graduation.

HOME GAMES (7)
Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Syracuse

AWAY GAMES (7)
Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, USF and Villanova

REPEAT OPPONENTS (1)
West Virginia