FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University women's basketball head coach Bill Reinson has announced his squad's schedule for the upcoming 2012-13 season. The schedule features 29 regular-season games, including the school's first, 18-game Big South Conference slate since joining the league on July 1. The Lancers will open the season on the road at the University of Richmond on Friday, November 9 at 4 p.m. before returning to the friendly confines of Willett Hall in Farmville for their home opener against Air Force on Monday, November 12 at 7 p.m.

“Joining the Big South Conference was the best thing that could have happened to our basketball program,” said Reinson, who is entering his second full year at the helm of the Lancers program. “It provides us with eighteen games against regional opponents, guarantees at least nine home games every season and affords us the opportunity to compete for a conference championship.”

Longwood will play its first Big South opponent on the road at Radford University on Saturday, December 29 at 3 p.m. to wrap up an entire month of road games for the Lancers. The squad will kick off its home league schedule with back-to-back contests against Gardner-Webb University on Thursday, January 3 at 7 p.m. and Winthrop University on Saturday, January 5 at 5 p.m.

“Radford, who will be our first Big South Conference game, really caught fire near the end of last season,” commented Reinson. “Winthrop took a huge step forward last year and although Gardner Webb had a tough year in 2011, they're just one year removed from a conference championship.”

The Lancers will play home-and-home series against five conference opponents, including Radford, who Longwood will host on Thursday, February 14 at 7 p.m., and Winthrop, who the Lancers will visit on Thursday, February 21 at 7 p.m. Other Big South home games for the Lancers in 2012-13 include Campbell (January 17, 7 p.m.), Coastal Carolina (January 19, 2 p.m.), High Point (February 7, 7 p.m.), Liberty (February 9, 2 p.m.), Charleston Southern (February 28, 7 p.m.) and Presbyterian (March 2, 2 p.m.). Longwood's Big South road schedule will include trips to Presbyterian (January 10, 7 p.m.), Charleston Southern (January 12, 2 p.m.), High Point (January 24, 7 p.m.), Liberty (January 26, 4 p.m.), Coastal Carolina (January 31, TBD), Campbell (February 2, 1 p.m.), and UNC Asheville (February 23, 2 p.m.).     

“The Big South is loaded with quality opponents this season,” explained Reinson. “High Point made great improvements last season, while UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern both have new coaches. Coastal Carolina and Campbell are always solid and Presbyterian will be looking forward to their first appearance in the Big South Conference Tournament. The road to the NCAA Tournament, however, goes through Lynchburg.  Liberty should, once again, be the team to beat.  It will be a huge challenge, but one that will be welcomed by everyone in our program.”

The 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Women's Basketball Championship will take place March 6-10 at The HTC Center, Coastal Carolina's new Student Recreation and Convocation Center in Conway, South Carolina. The tournament, which will be held in conjunction with the league's men's basketball championship, will feature all 11 Big South women's basketball member institutions.  

In addition to its league schedule in 2012-13, Longwood also has a challenging slate of non-conference games, most of which will be played on the road.

“Our non-conference schedule will prepare us for Big South Conference play,” said Reinson. “We play nine non-conference road games and winning on the road is difficult. However, if we are going be successful moving forward, we must play better away from Willett Hall.”

The Lancers' two, non-conference home games this season will be against Air Force, the team's home opener as previously mentioned, and against Murray State University on Saturday, November 17 at 2 p.m.

“We played both of Air Force and Murray State on the road last season and are excited to play them here in Willett Hall this time around,” said Reinson.

The team's farthest trip of the season will be to Arizona in December. The squad will face off against the University of Arizona on Thursday, December 20 at 7 p.m. before taking on Arizona State University on Saturday, December 22.

“While we tried to stay regional with this year's schedule, we will be making a trip to Arizona right before Christmas to play the University of Arizona and Arizona State,” commented Reinson. “It is hard to find a better place to play in December than Arizona.”

In addition to Richmond, Arizona and Arizona State, other non-conference road games for Longwood this season include North Carolina State (November 15, TBD), Coppin State (November 20, 6 p.m.), Pittsburgh (November 26, 7 p.m.), Virginia Tech (December 1, TBD), Gardner-Webb (December 9, 3 p.m.), and Bucknell (December 15, 4 p.m.).

“In Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh, we have scheduled games against quality programs from two outstanding conferences, the ACC and the Big East,” explained Reinson. “We are looking forward to measuring ourselves against this level of competition. Richmond will be an exciting game. The Spiders beat us here in Farmville last season and they continue to get better. Coppin State will be near the top of the MEAC this year and Bucknell is a program on the rise.”

Longwood returns seven letterwinners from its 2011 campaign that finished 7-22 overall. Reinson has also added eight newcomers to the 2012-13 roster.