MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—Head coach Bill Sullivan announced the Barry University women’s basketball schedule today, a slate which does not take the Buccaneers out of south Florida for the first time since 2009-10. It's a tough slate for the Bucs, with nine games against NCAA Tournament teams.
After tuning up for the season with a trio of exhibition games, the Bucs get the regular season started at the Nova Southeastern Tip-off Tournament on Nov. 9-10 against a couple of NCAA Tournament teams. Barry faces the Stonehill Skyhawks in the opening round and the Washburn Icabods in the second round. The Skyhawks, who went 24-4, were the second seed in the East Region and reached the semifinals of the regional tournament. The Ichabods, formerly known as the Lady Blues, were the top team in the Central region after going 23-4, but fell in the first round to the eighth seed Emporia State.
After an intersectional matchup with Florida Memorial on Nov. 15, the Bucs get visits from a pair of Puerto Rican schools to open the home slate. The Bucs face Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Nov. 21 and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Nov. 27.
Sunshine State Conference play gets started with a single game in December as the Tampa Spartans visit the HSC on Dec. 7.
The Bucs make their annual trip to the Cruzin’ Classic at Nova Southeastern on Dec. 16-17. The Bucs face Shaw, who won the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship and earned a third seed at the 2013 Southeast Regional, on the 16th and Benedict from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on the 17th before taking off for the holiday break.
Coming back from break, they close out the year on New Year’s Eve against cross-town rival Johnson & Wales.
In January, the SSC schedule starts to heat up. The Bucs travel to Lakeland, Fla., on Jan. 4 to face the Florida Southern Lady Mocs in a re-match of an SSC Tournament game from last year.
Barry steps outside of the conference on Jan. 8 to host the Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic, then closes the month hosting Saint Leo (Jan. 12), Lynn (Jan. 22) and Florida Tech (Jan. 29) and visiting Nova Southeastern (Jan. 15), Eckerd (Jan. 18) and Rollins (Jan. 25). Lynn and Nova Southeastern tied for the regular season championship in the conference, while Rollins captured the tournament title. All three advanced to the NCAA Tournament, with NSU advancing on to the Elite Eight.
The schedule flops in February. Barry visits Tampa (Feb. 1), Saint Leo (Feb. 8), Lynn (Feb. 26) and Florida Tech (Mar. 1) in conference and Palm Beach Atlantic out of conference. The Bucs host Florida Southern (Feb. 5), Eckerd (Feb. 15), Nova Southeastern (Feb. 19) and Rollins (Feb. 22).
The SSC Tournament is in Kissimmee, Fla., Mar. 5-9 at Silver Spurs Arena, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.