Aug. 2, 2010

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh’s women’s basketball team has announced its non-conference schedule as well as conference home and away opponents for the upcoming 2010-11 schedule.

“I am really excited about our 2010-11 schedule,” said eighth-year head coach Agnus Berenato. “I think that playing a lot of teams for only the first or second time in program history presents a new challenge to us. We have reached out to different conferences to prepare us for our grueling Big East schedule.”

This season’s schedule features seven teams that reached postseason play in 2009-10. The Panthers’ schedule consists of 13 non-conference games highlighted by a battle with ACC powerhouse Duke University and the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers.

“I’ve coached at Minnesota and it’s a different experience at a unique venue,” added Berenato. “Duke, always an ACC favorite, will be a tough test on our court but with five seniors we feel that stepping outside to play a great team from a great conference is the best way for us to measure ourselves and see how we stack up.”

Pitt starts the season with four of their first five games at the Petersen Events Center, including an exhibition game against Seton Hill. The Panthers open the regular season hosting Youngstown State on Nov. 12 on the second annual “School Day.” Pitt then travels to the Twin Cities to take on Minnesota (Nov. 17) in the Big Six Challenge before coming home to face Radford (Nov. 21).

The Panthers will welcome Elite Eight participant Duke (Nov. 24) as well as Loyola (Md.) (Nov. 28) before traveling to Loretto, Pa. to take on NCAA tournament participant St. Francis (Dec. 1). Pitt will return home to host Mount St. Mary’s (Dec. 4) before heading out to Indiana to face Valparaiso (Dec. 11).

Pitt will open the Las Vegas Hoops Classic Tournament with Texas Tech (Dec. 19) followed by Texas-Arlington (Dec. 20) before returning home to face NCAA tournament tested Austin Peay (Dec. 28).

“The Las Vegas Hoops Classic is a great way to get our team out and see a different part of the country,” added Berenato. “The Big 12 is a tough conference with a great track record.”

The Panthers will close out the non-conference schedule with two road games against Central Michigan (Dec. 31) and cross-town rival Duquesne (Jan. 5).

“We have a really tough schedule,” said Berenato. “But it’s something that we wanted to do and we’re not backing down as we prepare ourselves for the Big East portion of our schedule.”

Pitt will play a 16-game Big East schedule, featuring eight home and eight away games. The Panthers will play each team once and rival West Virginia twice this year.

Home opponents at the Petersen Events Center include NCAA participants Notre Dame and DePaul in addition to WNIT participants Marquette and Providence, as well as Cincinnati, USF and Villanova.

The Panthers’ 2009-10 Big East road opponents include back-to-back NCAA National Champion Connecticut, NCAA Tournament participants Georgetown, Rutgers and St. Johns as well as WNIT participant Syracuse.

The Big East Championship is scheduled for March 4-8 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. Dates and times for Big East Conference games will be announced early this fall.