The Dragons will open the season on the road for only the second time in the past five years, as they are set to open the season Nov. 9 in Providence, R.I.. Seven of the Dragons’ first eight games will be on the road.
The only home game in that span will be the home opener at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Philadelphia rival Saint Joseph’s University will be the first visitor on the women’s floor this season Nov. 14. The Dragons will be looking to improve on their home struggles from last season, when they went 6-8 on the home floor.
After that home date, the Dragons will not play another home game until Dec. 21, when the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, their University City neighbors, come to the DAC. That will be the last of three matchups against rival Philadelphia schools, the other being Nov. 17 when they visit La Salle University. Head coach Denise Dillon said those games stick out to her when looking at the schedule.
“I think [for] the games against the Philadelphia schools — Saint Joe’s, La Salle and Penn — there’ll be a lot of excitement,” she said.
Early in the season, Drexel will travel north for two tournaments, the first of which will be the Long Island Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 23-24.
The second one will be at The University of Vermont for the TD Bank Classic, which should be a challenge. They are scheduled to play The University of Rhode Island and Vermont Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, respectively. Dillon said she liked the idea of facing tougher out-of-conference teams, with the chance to pick up quality wins and really put the team in a good position with regard to their Ratings Percentage Index.
The conference schedule against their Colonial Athletic Association rivals will kick off Jan. 6 at home against Towson University. Every CAA team, with the exception of Northeastern University, will play at the DAC this season. Drexel will only face Northeastern once, when they visit them Jan. 24.
Senior Day, the regular-season home finale, will take place March 6 when the Dragons host James Madison University. It will be the final home game for the four seniors: Renee Johnson-Allen, Nicki Jones, Hollie Mershon and Taylor Wootton.
The postseason is set to begin March 14, when the CAA Tournament will take place. Drexel made it to the championship game last season and will be looking to make a return trip, an obvious goal Dillon reiterated.
They will be starting the season with four incoming freshman, needing to replace their four graduated seniors. Because of that, the new season can present some challenges as the new-look team gels together.
“We have some unknowns, having lost four seniors,” Dillon said. “The girls are really excited about the season, and we are looking forward to getting it started.”
Now that we have the official schedule, the official countdown to the season can begin — only four weeks away from game 1.