IRVING, Texas -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team unveiled its 2016-17 Conference USA schedule, as announced by head coach Karen Barefoot and the Conference USA office on Wednesday.
The 18-game conference slate begins on the road, as the Lady Monarchs travel to Texas for showdowns at Rice on Dec. 30 and North Texas on New Year's Day.
ODU returns to Norfolk for its home conference opener against Marshall on Jan. 5, before taking on WKU on Jan. 7. Coach Barefoot's squad then travels to Southern Miss and LA Tech, before a three-game homestand in late January against Charlotte, Rice and North Texas.
Last year's home game against Charlotte served as the 14th annual Hoops For The Cure Game that saw 3,146 fans pack the Ted Constant Center.
The team then makes a road trip to the Sunshine State for contests at FIU and Florida Atlantic. A season ago, against FIU, the team held its annual Alumni Game and also celebrated the program's 1,000th all-time victory, which was earned at Howard on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015.
ODU returns to The Ted on Feb. 9 and 11 to take on reigning conference champ Middle Tennessee and UAB. The Lady Monarchs handed the Blue Raiders one of their three home losses last year, as MaKayla Timmons hit a 40-foot, game-winning buzzer-beater that was featured on SportsCenter's Top 10.
The team closes out its road slate with a trio of away games at Charlotte, Marshall and WKU, before concluding the regular season with a pair of home games. ODU first takes on UTEP, the 2015-16 C-USA Regular Season Champions who the Lady Monarchs upset 66-54 in the C-USA Tournament semifinals.
ODU then closes the regular season at The Ted against UTSA. Last year, Jennie Simms dumped in a conference-best 39 points against the Roadrunners.
The Conference USA Tournament is once again hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Alabama, March 8-11.
The Lady Monarchs posted a 17-17 overall record and a 10-8 mark in conference play during the 2015-16 season. ODU advanced to the C-USA Championship game as an unlikely No. 5 seed, knocking off top-seeded UTEP, before falling to Middle Tennessee in the final.
ODU graduated just one senior from last year's squad and return all five starters, including all-conference selection Simms.
2016-17 Old Dominion Women's Basketball Conference USA Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| Friday, Dec. 30 | at Rice | Houston, Texas |
| Sunday, Jan. 1 | at North Texas | Denton, Texas |
| Thursday, Jan. 5 | Marshall | Norfolk, Va. |
| Saturday, Jan. 7 | WKU | Norfolk, Va. |
| Thursday, Jan. 12 | at Southern Miss | Hattiesburg, Miss. |
| Saturday, Jan. 14 | at LA Tech | Ruston, La. |
| Saturday, Jan. 21 | Charlotte | Norfolk, Va. |
| Thursday, Jan. 26 | Rice | Norfolk, Va. |
| Saturday, Jan. 28 | North Texas | Norfolk, Va. |
| Thursday, Feb. 2 | at FIU | Miami, Fla. |
| Saturday, Feb. 4 | at Florida Atlantic | Boca Raton, Fla. |
| Thursday, Feb. 9 | Middle Tennessee | Norfolk, Va. |
| Saturday, Feb. 11 | UAB | Norfolk, Va. |
| Saturday, Feb. 18 | at Charlotte | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Thursday, Feb. 23 | at Marshall | Huntington, W.V. |
| Saturday, Feb. 25 | at WKU | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Thursday, Mar. 2 | UTEP | Norfolk, Va. |
| Saturday, Mar. 4 | UTSA | Norfolk, Va. |