KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan women's basketball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Tasha McDowell, has released its 2008-09 schedule. The slate consists of 29 games, 11 of which are at home, and two non-conference regular-season tournaments.

The Broncos will go head-to-head with some of the best programs in the country, including NCAA regional finalist North Carolina, NCAA Sweet 16 participant Pitt, WNIT Champions Marquette, a pair of WNIT teams in Drake and Iona, and Missouri Valley Champions and NCAA Tournament participant Illinois State.

“When you come to college your goal is to play against the best in the country,” McDowell said. “Our team and our staff, we're very excited about our schedule. We've got some great games. We've got some great road games. Our team will be tested early, and that's a good thing for us. We're a pretty young team, and we're going to grow and we're going to learn.”

Western Michigan gets its first taste of action against an outside opponent on Nov. 2 when it hosts NAIA member Davenport in exhibition action. The Broncos then host NCAA Division III Olivet in its final preseason tune-up on Nov. 10.

“Exhibition games give you an idea of where you are. It's a great venue to actually get some experience in a competitive environment and work out some of the kinks.”

The Broncos officially open their 2008-09 schedule on the road, traveling to St. Louis (Nov. 16). WMU then returns to Kalamazoo to host two of the top teams in the Big East, welcoming Pitt (Nov. 20) and Marquette (Nov. 23). Last year, the Broncos pushed the WNIT Champions to the brink, losing to the Golden Eagles by four on the road.

December is Western Michigan's most taxing part of its schedule, as the first five contests are on the road and WMU is away for seven of eight games. The first stop is New Rochelle, N.Y., for the Iona Thanksgiving Classic, facing off against University of Maryland Baltimore County (Nov. 29) and Iona (Nov. 30). From New York, the Broncos will hop over to New Britian, Conn., to take on Central Connecticut State (Dec. 2). The road stint ends with Illinois Chicago (Dec. 6) and Drake (Dec. 18).

The Brown & Gold will get to enjoy home court advantage for the only time in December vs. Chicago State (Dec. 18), before taking flight to the West coast for the second-straight year. Partaking in the UC Irvine Tournament, WMU will face Illinois State (Dec. 21) and either UC Irvine or UNC Greensboro (Dec. 22).

After a short break for the holidays, the Broncos are back at it, traveling to perennial powerhouse North Carolina (Dec. 28) and concluding the non-conference schedule at North Carolina Central (Dec. 30).

“For the most part, the schedule was done before our coaching staff arrived to WMU, and we are on the road a lot,” McDowell said. “But the positive is, in order to win you need to learn how to win on the road. It's going to be a great learning experience competing in those tough environments.

“North Carolina is no doubt one of the best teams in the country and they have been for a long time. We'll have lots of games underneath our belt by that time and we're going to approach that game the same way we do any other. We're going to go out there and compete to win. It will give us a look as to where our intensity level is and our ability to compete at the national level.”

The North Carolina trip springboards Western Michigan into Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos' kick off the 16-game conference schedule with Toledo (Jan. 7) and Ball State (Jan. 10) at home, then travel to Northern Illinois (Jan. 14) and Central Michigan (Jan. 17). WMU wraps up the first go-around with the MAC West Division at home against Eastern Michigan (Jan. 21).

Games at Kent State (Jan. 24) and Buffalo (Jan. 31) open MAC cross-divisional play, followed by home contests against reigning conference champion Miami (Feb. 4) and WNIT participant Bowling Green (Feb. 7). The Broncos then travel to Ohio (Feb. 11) and conclude against the MAC East hosting Akron (Feb. 14).

The second round of MAC West competition goes as follows; Toledo, Central Michigan, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, flip-flopping home and away locations from the first set of games earlier in the year.

“In the conference you can't overlook anything,” commented McDowell. “You can't overlook anyone and you can't underestimate anyone. At the same time, we just need to do what we do and do it well, and make sure that we're prepared for everyone and attack every game with all that we have.

“What we're doing right now is continuing our individual workouts, teaching our kids the basic principals of our defense and offenses, as well as breaking those things down. We are building a competitive attitude and their mental toughness. Every year, in my eyes, is another opportunity for a different team to emerge as champions.”