Sept. 4, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 2008-09 Purdue women's basketball schedule includes 18 Big Ten games for the second year in a row. The conference schedule, which was announced in conjunction with the Big Ten today, begins with the Boilermakers traveling to Illinois on Dec. 22. It is the first time since the 1988-89 season that Purdue has played a Big Ten game before Christmas.

The Boilermakers open the season with an exhibition game against OGBR on Nov. 9 and then have three consecutive regular-season home games: Nov. 16 against IUPUI, Nov. 20 versus Portland and Nov. 23 against Oakland.

Purdue then heads to Honolulu for a Thanksgiving tournament. A six-team field comprised of 2008 NCAA Tournament runner-up Stanford, Iowa State, Hawaii, Prairie View A&M and San Diego State will compete in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic on Nov. 28-30. The Boilermakers will be challenged right away as they face Stanford on Nov. 28 at 6:10 p.m. ET. Purdue takes on the host team, Hawaii on Nov. 29 at 8:20 p.m. ET and will finish up the tournament against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 30 at 6:10 p.m. ET.

Maryland is set to travel to West Lafayette, Ind., on Dec. 4, after finishing last season with a No. 7 ranking in the final Top 25 coaches' poll. The matchup is part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge which will feature 11 total games between Big Ten and ACC teams on Dec. 3, 4 and 5.

"We are excited to have a team the caliber of Maryland in Mackey Arena," Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp said. "We feel it will be an outstanding display of talent on both sides of the court and certainly one that any fan of college basketball won't want to miss."

The Boilermakers then play two consecutive road games against instate rivals, taking on Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 7 and then at Valparaiso on Dec. 10.

"It is important to us to expose our student-athletes to unique experiences, so we are excited about the opportunity to travel to Hawaii to face tough competition in a beautiful location," Versyp said. "Our ultimate goal is to prepare our team for the Big Ten slate, while minimizing the amount of class time missed. We feel that we have achieved that goal."

The conference opener is Dec. 22 at Illinois. Purdue will play host to the Illini on Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. The game will televised on ESPN2 and is designated as the WBCA Pink Zone game to raise breast cancer awareness. The Boilermakers will be sporting white uniforms with pink trim in honor of the event.

Texas will be Purdue's final non-conference opponent and the game is scheduled for Jan. 5 in Mackey Arena.

Purdue plays both of last year's regular season co-champions, Ohio State and Iowa, twice this season starting with a visit to Iowa on Dec. 28. The Boilermakers play host to the Hawkeyes on Jan. 8 and that matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. Purdue takes on Ohio State on Jan. 25 at 5 p.m., in a home game that will be televised by ESPN2; and then travels to Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 5.

The Boilermakers face instate rival Indiana just once this season and that contest will be in Bloomington on Monday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Michigan is the other conference opponent that Purdue plays only once and that game is slated for Thursday, Feb. 26. The game could be picked up by the Big Ten Network as a wildcard game, so the game time will be set at a later date.

The remainder of the home conference slate includes Michigan State on New Year's Day in a 1 p.m. matchup that will be televised by the Big Ten Network, Penn State on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. and Minnesota on Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Purdue takes on Northwestern on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. in Mackey Arena and that game is the alumnae celebration that will feature a reunion of the 1999 national championship team. On Feb. 8, the Boilermakers play host to Wisconsin at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

The Big Ten Tournament will return to Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis from March 5 to 8.

Purdue season-tickets are now on sale. The adult reserved lower arena season-ticket package is $116, while student reserved lower arena is $52. New this season is a general admission upper arena ticket package that is $91 for adults and $52 for students. Single game tickets will go on sale Nov. 3.

Fans wanting to order 2008-09 season tickets online can do so by logging on to purduesports.com.. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 800-49-SPORT or stopping by the Purdue Athletics ticket office in the IAF.

Applications for priority seating must be received by the Athletic Ticket Office by Sept. 8.

The remaining game times and non-conference television schedule will be announced at a later date. The full schedule can be found by clicking here.

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