August 25, 2010- ESU has won 34 of their last 36 games in White Auditorium and have been ranked in the top six in the nation in attendance each of the last 13 years.

The Lady Hornets will open the season with an exhibition contest in White Auditorium against Evangel. The Lady Crusaders have won seven Heart of America Conference championships and have advanced to the NAIA National Tournament the last two seasons.

The regular season will tip off with a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the NCAA Division I Golden Hurricanes on November 13. It will be the Lady Hornets first regular season contest against a D-I opponent since 1993. ESU has played exhibition games against Kansas and Kansas State over the last five years, including a 64-59 victory at K-State in 2006 and a 74-64 overtime loss at KU in 2007.

NCAA Division II Sweet 16 participant Concordia-St.Paul will be the opponent for the Lady Hornets home opener on November 20 in

White Auditorium. The Golden Bears lost to Ft. Lewis, ESU's opponent in the national championship game, 73-64 in the Central Region championship game. CSP ended the year 26-6 and ranked #19 in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.

The Lady Hornets will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. for the UCCS Marriot Invitational. ESU will play Heartland Conference foe Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday and Winona State on Saturday.

The 22 game MIAA schedule begins with a Wednesday night tilt against Northwest Missouri State on December 1 in White Auditorium. The Bearcats handed ESU an 88-76 loss in the conference opener last year in Maryville and were the last team to defeat the Lady Hornets in an MIAA opener in White Auditorium, defeating ESU 81-66 to open the 2001-02 season. Games against Missouri Western on December 4 and Nebraska-Omaha on December 8 wrap up the conference opening three game home stand.

ESU will play following graduations the next two Saturdays, at Central Missouri on December 11 and at Truman on December 18. The Lady Hornets will wring in 2011 with a New Year's Day game against Southwest Baptist before hosting Missouri Southern on January 5. ESU will travel to Pittsburg State on January 8 and then make their first appearance at Lincoln's Jason Gymnasium since the 1998-99 season on January 12.

The last two MIAA teams to win national championships will lock up on January 15 when 2005 national champion Washburn comes to White Auditorium. The two national powers have been ranked in each of the last 23 meetings. The Turnpike Tussle will also be fans only opportunity to catch the Lady Hornets in White Auditorium as they have a stretch of five out of six games on the road to wrap up the first half and start the second half of the conference season.

ESU will end the first half of conference action at Ft. Hays State on January 19 before travelling to Northwest Missouri on January 22. The second half of MIAA play will mirror the first half, with the order staying the same and the locations switching.

The MIAA Tournament will return to historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. for the ninth straight year and will run from March 3-6. The Lady Hornets have been in the tournament championship three times since it moved to Kansas City. The South Central Regional Tournament is set for March 12-15 at a yet to be determined campus site. ESU has played in eight straight NCAA tournaments and has been to the tourney 13 times in the last 14 years. The NCAA Division II Elite Eight is scheduled to be played March 23-26 at the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo., the site of ESU's national championship last spring. The Lady Hornets have advanced to the Elite Eight five times.

The Lady Hornets were 30-5 a year ago and captured their first NCAA Division II National Championship. Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player Alli Volkens along with Elite Eight All-Tourney selection Brittney Miller and MIAA Freshman of the Year Rachel Hanf, lead eight returning letterwinners heading into the 2010-11 season.

2010-11 ESU Women’s Basketball Schedule

DateOpponentLocationTime

Nov. 2#EvangelEmporia7:00 pm

Nov. 13at TulsaTulsa, Okla.2:00 pm

Nov. 20Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.)Emporia3:00 pm

Nov. 26-27at UCCS Marriot Invitational Colorado Springs, Colo.

Nov. 26vs. Okla. Panhandle StateColorado Springs, Colo.2:00 pm

Nov. 27vs. Winona State Colorado Springs, Colo.2:00 pm

Dec. 1*Northwest MissouriEmporia 5:30 pm

Dec. 4*Missouri WesternEmporia 5:30 pm

Dec. 8*Neb.-OmahaEmporia5:30 pm

Dec. 11at *Central MissouriWarrensburg, Mo.6:00 pm

Dec. 18at *TrumanKirksville, Mo. 5:30 pm

Jan. 1*Southwest BaptistEmporia5:30 pm

Jan. 5*Missouri SouthernEmporia5:30 pm

Jan. 8at *Pittsburg StatePittsburg, Kan.5:30 pm

Jan. 12at *LincolnJefferson City, Mo.5:30 pm

Jan. 15*WashburnEmporia 5:30 pm

Jan. 19at *Ft. Hays StateHays, Kan.5:30 pm

Jan. 22at *Northwest MissouriMaryville, Mo.1:30 pm

Jan. 26at *Missouri WesternSt. Joseph, Mo. 5:30 pm

Jan. 30*TrumanEmporia1:00 pm

Feb. 2*Central MissouriEmporia 5:30 pm

Feb. 5at *Neb.-OmahaOmaha, Neb. 1:30 pm

Feb. 8 at *Southwest BaptistBolivar, Mo. 5:30 pm

Feb. 12at *Missouri SouthernJoplin, Mo.5:30 pm

Feb. 16*Pittsburg StateEmporia5:30 pm

Feb. 19*LincolnEmporia5:30 pm

Feb. 23at *WashburnTopeka, Kan.5:30 pm

Feb. 26*Ft. Hays StateEmporia5:30 pm

Mar. 3-6MIAA TournamentKansas City, Mo.TBA

Mar. 11-14NCAA South Central RegionalTBATBA

Mar. 22-25NCAA Elite EightSt. Joseph, Mo.TBA

All times and dates tentative as of August 10, 2010

$Exhibition Game *MIAA Game All Times Central