Coach Cara Consuegra is ‘Excited’ for the Lady 49ers 2019-20 Season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Five home non-conference games, including a pair of games against former Atlantic 10 rivals, plus a revitalized Conference USA slate are on the docket for the Charlotte women’s basketball program during the 2019-20 campaign. Head coach Cara Consuegra released the schedule Monday, which also includes the earliest start date in school history, matchups against three ‘Power 5’ programs and a trip to Puerto Rico.

“I’m excited about the schedule we’ve been able to put together,” Consuegra said. “For us, we always want it to be competitive and to prepare our team as we move into conference play. I think we’ve been able to do that with a really solid schedule, including a bunch of teams that played in the postseason and will challenge us early.”

NEXT-LEVEL COMPETITION
Consuegra’s squads have never shied away from playing strong competition and 2019-20 will be no different. There are 12 scheduled games against opponents who played in the postseason, last year, including three NCAA Tournament squads, five who competed in the WNIT and four who participated in the WBI, including runner-up North Texas.
Along the lines of never backing down, the 49ers will meet three schools who are members of ‘Power 5’ leagues. The road opener, November 15, will be at Wake Forest, while the squad will also meet Boston College, also of the ACC, during a Thanksgiving-week tournament and then the SEC’s Kentucky in Lexington to open December. While Wake Forest has been a regular opponent through the years, it will be the first-ever matchup with Boston College and just the second with the Wildcats, as the teams only met previously in 1992.

ISLAND HOPPING
The Niners will look to make the long-awaited trip to Puerto Rico for their Thanksgiving-week tournament, this year. Two years ago, in 2017-18, Charlotte was slated to travel to the U.S. territory, but Hurricane Maria wiped out the island and the tournament was moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This year, the 49ers will again participate in the Puerto Rico Clasico and meet Boston College prior to the holiday and then former Metro and Conference USA rival Tulane after it for the two-game series.

RENEWAL OF FORMER LEAGUE MATES
Charlotte squares off with a couple of former Atlantic 10 opponents, Richmond and Fordham, during the non-conference campaign with both teams coming to Halton Arena. It will be the first clash with the Spiders since the Niners’ last regular-season game in their former league, in March 2013, while the Rams and 49ers meet for the second-straight year after last season’s matchup in the Bronx.
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS
Rarely will Charlotte meet an opponent for the first time but the Niners are scheduled for two such opponents as part of the non-conference calendar. The first will be Boston College November 27 in Puerto Rico, while the 49ers will play host to Delaware inside Halton Arena December 17.

CONFERENCE USA SCHEDULE CHANGES
Once again, the Conference USA schedule has been tweaked and this year it will feature an 18-game slate for the first time since 2014-15. The first 14 games, featuring one game each against the other 13 schools and one designated two-time matchup (Old Dominion), are set.
The remaining four games, labeled as Bonus Play contests, will be determined in December and be set based upon a power rankings system. Those four games, which will come from five dates (February 22 or 26 or 29; March 5 or 7) will feature two inside Halton Arena and two on the road.

LEAGUE SETUP
The Niners begin the conference docket once the calendar flips to 2020 with three-straight road games. The first league matchup will be in Birmingham, Alabama, against UAB January 2 and it opens a stretch of five-straight games against schools who played in the postseason last March.
Charlotte’s home conference opener will welcome Marshall to town January 16. Of the seven designated home games for the 49ers thus far in league play, six will include opponents who were in the postseason. Also among those foes will be defending regular-season and tournament champion Rice, who finished with a perfect league record a year ago. The Owls will be inside Halton Arena February 15.