MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons, along with the Big 12 Conference, announced the 2017-18 women's basketball schedule on Thursday.
 
The reigning Big 12 Conference Tournament champion Mountaineers will play 16 regular-season games inside the WVU Coliseum in addition to a hosting a December matchup in Charleston. They will hit the road for four non-conference tilts, including a tournament in the Caribbean, before embarking on a conference slate that features nine road contests.
 
Season tickets for the 2017-18 campaign are available at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME.
 
"I'm looking forward to the schedule we've put together this season," coach Mike Carey said. "Rivalry games against Virginia Tech and Pitt, along with the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Texas A&M, are always exciting and are great preparation for a challenging Big 12 schedule. We're excited for the season to start."
 
Fans can get their first glimpse of the 2017-18 team on Oct. 29 when WVU plays host to West Virginia Wesleyan in Morgantown. As previously announced, the Mountaineers officially open the season at home against Central Connecticut State on Nov. 10. The three-game homestand will also include tilts with Sacramento State (Nov. 14) and North Florida (Nov. 19).
 
The Mountaineers trek to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to take part in Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands the week of Thanksgiving. They'll face Butler on Nov. 23 to open the tournament before squaring off with Drexel on Nov. 24. WVU concludes the event on Nov. 25 against rival Virginia Tech.
 
West Virginia will travel to College Station, Texas, on Dec. 3 for a contest at Texas A&M as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, marking just the second all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and the Aggies. The team returns home on Dec. 7 to welcome rival Pitt to the Coliseum in the first Backyard Brawl since 2012.
 
After hosting Coppin State on Dec. 10, WVU will travel to Charleston on Dec. 16 to host Radford at the Charleston Civic Center. The Mountaineers return to Morgantown to close out the nonconference slate with Morgan State (Dec.18) and Morehead State (Dec.21) at the WVU Coliseum.
 
Following a week-long holiday hiatus, West Virginia heads to the Lone Star state to embark on the Big 12 slate. League action opens on Dec. 28 at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Mountaineers will cap 2017 at Texas with a Dec. 31 matchup in Austin.
 
The new year starts with a two-game Big 12 homestand. K-State arrives at the WVU Coliseum on Jan. 3 while Iowa State comes to town Jan. 7.
 
The Mountaineers head to Lawrence, Kansas, on Jan. 10 to face the Kansas Jayhawks before returning home for a rematch with TCU on Jan. 13 at the WVU Coliseum. They depart for Stillwater, Oklahoma, the following week, heading to Oklahoma State on Jan. 17 before trekking to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones on Jan. 20.
 
Texas Tech comes to Morgantown for the first of two meetings on Jan. 24. Four days later, the Mountaineers will square off with Baylor (Jan. 28) at the Coliseum in a rematch of last year's Big 12 title game.
 
The schedule resumes six days later when the Mountaineers head to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the Sooners on Feb. 3. Back in Morgantown, they'll see Texas for the second time on Feb. 5 before heading to Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 10 to meet the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
 
Returning to the WVU Coliseum for back-to-back home games, the Mountaineers host Kansas on Feb. 14 before welcoming Oklahoma three days later on Feb. 17. The team will depart for Manhattan, Kansas, to take on K-State on Feb. 20.
 
West Virginia concludes its home slate for the regular season on Feb. 24 with Oklahoma State. A second tilt with Baylor in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 26 will cap the regular season for the squad.
 
The Mountaineers head to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 2-5 to defend their title at the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Chesapeake Energy Arena, returning to the arena for the third straight season.
 
Times and TV listings will be announced at a later date.
 
WVU finished with an overall record of 24-11 in 2016-17, going 8-10 in the league before claiming the program's first-ever Big 12 Conference Tournament title. The Mountaineers went on to make their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, advancing to the NCAA Second Round for the 10th time in program history.