CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Thursday the release of the 2017-18 women's basketball conference schedule that features the normal 18-game lineup, with nine home and nine away games. The team's tough non-conference schedule will be announced on a later date.

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"As always the MAC should be better than ever with conference parity that I think is unparalleled across the country," commented WMU head coach Shane Clipfell. "We feel like we have a team that will compete for a championship and we know that consistency will be key. When you don't perform at your best you will not win this league. We will have a deep roster and a team that we think can play faster than we have in the past."
 
Western Michigan finished last season 19-13 overall and 8-10 in the MAC including an impressive 10-game winning streak during the nonconference season. The overall record falls just two victories shy of tying the school record for wins (21) set in 1978 while the win streak is the fourth longest winning streak the program has ever seen and the longest in the last 20 years.
 
The Broncos begin the MAC season hosting Bowling Green on Saturday, Dec. 30 at University Arena. The remainder of the home schedule includes Northern Illinois (1/10), Ohio (1/13), Miami (1/20), Toledo (1/31), Akron (2/3), Ball State (2/10), Central Michigan (2/24) and Eastern Michigan (2/28).
 
The away conference season begins on Jan. 3 as the Broncos make the long trip to Buffalo. Western Michigan travels to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. facing the Chippewas on Jan. 27. The last time these two teams met occurred in the 2017 MAC quarterfinals. The eighth-seed Western Michigan upset top seed CMU to advance to the semifinals. The remainder of the away MAC schedule includes Kent State (1/6), Eastern Michigan (1/17), Akron (1/24), Bowling Green (2/7), Toledo (2/17), Ball State (2/21) and Northern Illinois (3/3).  
 
"We will also be playing a tough non-conference schedule that will give us great preparation for the conference season," added Clipfell. "I love this time of year as does every coach in this profession and we are excited about this team."
 
Tip times are to be announced but please check back to wmubroncos.com for updated times coming in the following weeks. Television times are expected to be released by the conference office in October.
 
December 30                      Bowling Green
January 3                             at Buffalo
January 6                             at Kent State
January 10                          Northern Illinois
January 13                          Ohio
January 17                           at Eastern Michigan
January 20                          Miami
January 24                           at Akron
January 27                           at Central Michigan
January 31                          Toledo
February 3                          Akron
February 7                           at Bowling Green
February 10                        Ball State
February 17                         at Toledo
February 21                         at Ball State
February 24                        Central Michigan
February 28                        Eastern Michigan
March 3                                at Northern Illinois