Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Announce 2002-03 Schedule
9/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 17, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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Northwestern University announced its women's basketball schedule for the 2002-03 season today. The 27-game regular season features three tournaments, including the Roger L. White Invitational which is hosted by NU.
"When we put this schedule together, we tried to play a variety of conferences," said head coach June Olkowski. "We also want to experience tournament success to better prepare our kids for the Big Ten season."
NU opens the regular season Nov. 22, hosting Illinois-Chicago at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats start the Big Ten portion of the schedule on Dec. 31 against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
After hosting UIC and traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the 2001-02 Missouri Valley runner-up, Drake University, the Wildcats invade the Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,500) in Brunswick, N.J. for the Rutgers Coca-Cola Classic. The Nov. 30-Dec. 1 tournament is a homecoming of sorts for head coach June Olkowski, as she led the Scarlet Knights to the 1982 AIAW National Championship her senior year.
Sophomore guard Melissa Culver is also heading home. The Littleton, Colo., native will help NU as they take on Morehead State in the first round of the Denver Invitational. The tournament is being played at Denver's Magness Center (7,200) on Dec. 20-21.
In between the trips to New Jersey and Colorado, NU will once again host the Roger L. White Invitational on Dec. 6-7. The 2002 tournament features Yale, Central Michigan and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Game 1 tips off when NU faces Yale on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. The tournament concludes Dec. 7 with the championship game at 8 p.m.
NU opens its Big Ten season at Ohio State on Dec. 31. The Wildcats face Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin only once this season, with the Nittany Lions and Badgers coming to Evanston. NU travels to Michigan State on March 2 to end the regular season.
The Big Ten Tournament returns to Indianapolis, Ind., for the second straight year. The first round begins March 6 and the championship game is on March 10.
