MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois head women's basketball coach JD Gravina announced on Thursday the 2011-12 schedule. The first-year head coach will play 13 games at Waste Management Court inside Western Hall.

"We feel like we were able to put together a good, competitive schedule on a fairly short time frame, said Gravina. "Not only are we playing some marquee games with top-notch teams but we are also trying to focus on playing teams within the region. This makes sense from a budget standpoint and also will help fuel rivalries and give our fans opportunities to see how we compete with comparable programs.

"We would like to continue to build scheduling relationships with these schools, and look to phase out our non-DI regular season competition in the years to come," stated Gravina.

An exhibition with Illinois-Springfield on Nov. 2 in Macomb will be the first opportunity for fans to see the new-look Leathernecks. The Purple & Gold will officially open the season at home with Hannibal-LaGrange (Nov. 11).

A three-game road trip with visits to Vanderbilt, Northern Illinois and Valparaiso will be next for Western. Vanderbilt is coming off a 20-12 season including a 10-6 mark in the SEC. The Commodores also earned a berth in NCAA Tournament with a No.10 seed before falling to Louisville. That game will be played in Nashville, Tennessee, on Nov. 14.

A trip to DeKalb on Nov. 16 will match the Leathernecks up with the Huskies of Northern Illinois after a tightly contested affair in Macomb last season. NIU edged Western, 73-65. A game with Valparaiso in Indiana on Nov. 22 will conclude the first road-trip of the season.

Coach Gravina and crew will bring the show back home for three games starting on Nov. 26. Milwaukee visits Waste Management Court for a 4:30 p.m. tilt and the Panthers took the last season's clash, 70-55 in Milwaukee, Wis..

Summit League play opens up with South Dakota State on Nov. 30. This will be the second of three games against 2011 NCAA Tournament teams. The Jackrabbits lost to Xavier in the opening round as a No.15 seed.

The homestand concludes with a Dec. 2 battle versus North Dakota State. A rematch of one of the more exciting home events this past season in all of Leatherneck athletics included victories by both the men and women's programs over the Bison. Three Leathernecks scored in double-digits to contribute to the win.

Western will finish the regular season with trips to North Dakota State and South Dakota State on Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, respectively.

A pair of non-conference road games take Western into Finals Week - a matchup with Eastern Illinois on Dec. 5 and a Dec. 9 game against Iowa.

Eastern Illinois finished 18-13 in 2010-11 and earned a postseason berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational but lost to Chicago State. The Hawkeyes finished third in the Big 10 with a 22-9 record and a 10-6 conference mark. This will be the third and final game with a NCAA Tournament team. Iowa entered the tournament as a No. 6 seed before losing to Gonzaga.

The Leathernecks will face Summit League member-in-waiting Nebraska-Omaha twice during the season before the Mavericks officially enter the league in 2012-13. The first will be at home on Dec. 20, the second in Omaha on Jan. 30.

The Leathernecks will travel to Bradley to clash with the Braves on December 21. A home holiday contest with William Woods on Dec. 27 will be the last chance for fans to see Western in December.

League play continues on Dec. 31. at IUPUI. The Purple & Gold took both games from the Jaguars last season. The second game versus the Jaguars is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Macomb.

The Leathernecks open the 2012 New Year with a game at IPFW on Jan. 7 with a return trip to Macomb on Feb 6. IPFW finished 13-5 in the Summit League last season.

That road trip concludes with a Jan. 9 game at Oakland. The two teams will finish the season series on Feb 4. in Macomb at 4:30 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies finished third in the Summit League with a 12-6 league mark.

Western Illinois returns home the following weekend with two conference games. The first on Jan. 14 against Southern Utah. The Leathernecks won the first match-up last season, 77-62. Western will travel to Southern Utah on Feb. 13 for the second game with the Thunderbirds at 7 p.m.

The second game of the weekend features regular season champion Oral Roberts on Jan. 16. The Golden Eagles concluded a 2010-11 season with a 23-11 record overall and a 16-2 mark in the Summit League. The return trip to ORU is scheduled for Feb. 11 in Tulsa, Okla.

On Jan. 21, Western will travel to Vermillion, S.D. to meet South Dakota for the first time as Summit League foes. The Coyotes went 20-12 and 10-2 inside the Great West Conference. The home contest for the Leathernecks against USD will be played on Feb. 20.