EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's basketball Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith announced her program's nonconference schedule Thursday. The Cougars will host Missouri S&T in an exhibition contest (Nov. 6) followed by a regular season slate featuring 11 games.

The Cougars officially tip off their regular season on the road at St. Louis (Nov. 11) before hosting Eastern Michigan in the home opener at First Community Arena (Nov. 13).

The nonconference swing is back on the road (Nov. 17) with a trip to West Lafayette, Ind. to face Purdue at the Mackey Complex for the first time since 2011.

The Cougars welcome Memphis (Nov. 19) and Xavier (Nov. 27) to First Community Arena in their final home nonconference matchups. SIUE will follow the homestand with a return to the road to face Iowa State (Nov. 29) at the Hilton Coliseum.

SIUE will then travel to Louisville (Dec. 6) for a contest at the KFC Yum Center following the program's fourth trip to the Final Four last season.  The Cougars will follow their trip to Louisville with a game at Western Illinois (Dec. 11).

The six-game road trip continues at Northern Illinois (Dec. 17) before heading west to close out the nonconference schedule at the Husky Classic against Liberty (Dec. 19) and host Washington (Dec. 20).

"We are so excited for this nonconference slate," said Smith. "Playing NCAA Tournament teams and programs that compete for National Championships will fully prepare us for the Ohio Valley Conference. If there is one thing our program will be, it is ready to compete in March".

The 11 nonconference games are in addition to the 18-game Ohio Valley schedule which was released over the summer.