MIAMI (Aug. 5, 2016) -- The FIU women's basketball program announces its non-conference slate of games for the upcoming 2016-17 season. The program, now under the direction of first-year Head Coach Tiara Malcom, begins play on Friday, November 11, in a home tilt against UCF.
 
The Panthers will take on six teams in the non-conference slate that advanced to postseason play in 2016, including the Postseason WNIT runner-up and four teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Including five Conference USA teams that qualified for the postseason, 11 teams on the 2016-17 schedule will be coming off of postseason experience in the previous year.
 
"I am excited to release our non-conference schedule," said Malcom. "It is challenging with so many of our opponents playing in the postseason last year, but it will test us right away and prepare our young team for the future. I am excited that they will have the opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in the state of Florida as well as in their respective conferences. Playing against these teams will not only prepare us for conference play starting at the end of December, but it will also grow our players every night that they step on the floor to compete."
 
Following the UCF home opener, FIU will play its first road game in Fort Myers, at FGCU on Tuesday, November 15. The Panthers will then play eight of their next nine games on Lime Court at FIU Arena, hosting both a Thanksgiving-weekend tournament and a pre-New Year's Classic.
 
Included in that stretch of games is three in a row against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season. Following the Thanksgiving-weekend tournament, the Panthers travel to Tampa to take on USF on Wednesday, November 30. A home game with Atlantic Sun Champion Jacksonville awaits FIU on Saturday, December 3 before a break for final exams. The Panthers host ACC foe and NCAA Tournament participant Miami (Florida) on Friday, December 16.
 
FIU will then host Texas Southern on Wednesday, December 21 before playing against Massachusetts and George Mason in the home classic on December 27 and 28, with the order of opponents to be determined.
 
Conference USA play begins for FIU on the road, with games on Friday, December 30 and New Year's Day, at league opponents to be released at a later date.
 
For women's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBB) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWBasketball) for all the latest FIU women's basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.