For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 20, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

LADY BRONCS SET TO BEGIN SEASON

EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's women's basketball team will begin their 2003-04 season when they play host Air Force at the Radisson Inn Classic Friday evening.

The Lady Broncs have eight newcomers and eight players returning from the team that went 7-21 last season and lost to the Falcons, 64-61, last January 9th at the UTPA Fieldhouse. They will play Air Force in the opening game of the tournament at 6:00 p.m. Central Time, with Boise State and Dayton meeting in the next game. The tournament concludes with games at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday.

This is the first time Texas-Pan American has opened the season by playing in a tournament since they hosted the season-opening Lady Bronc Classic two years ago. "We're excited that they invited us, and it's really prestigious to be involved in a tournament at Air Force," said UTPA Head Coach DeAnn Craft. "We feel that we're ready to start the season, and we've put in a great deal of hard work."

The Falcons were also 7-21 last season and split their exhibition games this year, losing to Regis, 74-61, and defeating Colorado-Colorado Springs, 66-48. "We're looking at the Air Force game as a big challenge, and a chance to make a statement for our program," said Craft. "We haven't won an opener since the 1998-99 season, so it's certainly something to shoot for. Air Force is extremely well-coached and they're very well-disciplined. It will be a hard-fought game, since we lost to them at the buzzer last year."

Boise State was 10-20 last season, and Dayton went 14-14. "Dayton's head coach used to be the head coach at Providence, and the head coach at Boise is Jen Warden, who was an assistant under Ceal Barry at Colorado, who is known for defense," said Craft. "It's a great opening tournament for us. If we can rebound and can force teams to play at our tempo, we can play well and create a environment that will give us confidence."

The Lady Broncs will return home to play Texas A&M-International at the UTPA Fieldhouse next Tuesday evening.

WBB-05-04-112003