Women's Basketball 8/14/2025 2:00:00 PM

Women’s Basketball Announces 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule

2025-26 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE | BUY 2025-26 SEASON TICKETS

Canisius head women's basketball coach Tiffany Swoffard announced the Golden Griffins' 2025-26 non-conference schedule on Thursday.

The Griffs are scheduled to play nine non-league games this season, with four of those contests being held at the Koessler Athletic Center. After hosting Lock Haven in an exhibition game on Oct. 23, the 50th season in program history will officially tip off Nov. 4, when Canisius travels to play at Michigan. The game against the Wolverines will mark the first time in program history that the Griffs have opened the season against a Big 10 Conference member school.

On Nov. 7, Canisius will open the home portion of the non-league slate when the Griffs play host to Eastern Michigan at the Koessler Athletic Center. That game will mark the return of former head coach Sahar Nusseibeh, who is entering her second season at the helm of the Eastern Michigan program. Nusseibeh led the Canisius program from 2021-24.

Four of the Griffs' next five games will be played on the road, starting Nov. 11 when the team travels east on the New York State Thruway to face off against Syracuse. On Nov. 14, Canisius travels to Olean, N.Y., to renew its longstanding rivalry with St. Bonaventure. That game will be the 59th meeting in series history, a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. Canisius has played more games against the Bonnies than any other non-league opponent.

After hosting Cornell on Nov. 16, the Griffs will travel to the state of Ohio to meet a pair of non-league opponents for the first time in program history. On Nov. 21, Canisius will play at Dayton before traveling to Cincinnati to square off with the Bearcats. That game against Cincinnati will mark the first time the Blue and Gold have played a member school of the Big 12 Conference since the team played at Texas on Dec. 16, 2015.

Canisius will close out the first month of the season Nov. 30 at home with a game against Mercyhurst. The Lakers, who transitioned to the NCAA Division I level before the start of the 2024-25 academic year, compete in the Northeast Conference. This year's meeting between the two schools will be the fourth in school history, and it will serve as the first contest between the schools since the Griffs defeated the Lakers, 76-48, in the first game of the 1986 Lady Griffs Invitational tournament.

Canisius' final scheduled non-league game is set for Dec. 12, when the Blue and Gold plays host to Wright State. The Griffs and the Raiders have met seven times previously, and this year's contest will be the first contest between the schools since Dec. 1, 2007. Canisius leads the all-time series against Wright State by a 5-2 count, with three of those five victories coming at the Koessler Athletic Center.

The full 2025-26 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule will be released in the next few weeks. As was the case in 2024-25, the 2025-26 MAAC slate will feature an unbalanced 20-game schedule, which will start in December. The 2026 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship tournament will be held March 5-10 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE NOTES
• The Nov. 4 start date will be the earliest in program history, and the Griffs' home opener against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 7 serves as the earliest home game in the program's history.

• Canisius will open the season in the state of Michigan for the first time since Nov. 22, 2002 when the Blue and Gold started the 2002-03 campaign with a neutral site game against Stetson in the first game of the Eastern Michigan Eagle Classic in Ypsilanti, Mich.
• In all, Canisius' nine-game non-league slate features games against schools from eight different conferences (Big 10, MAC, ACC, Atlantic 10, Ivy League, Big 12, Northeast and Horizon League).
• The 2025-26 season marks the second-straight year that the Griffs have played a Big 10 Conference school. Last season, the Blue and Gold played host to Illinois.
• Canisius will be meeting Syracuse for the 14th time in series history, a series which dates back to the 1979-80 campaign. This year's game will be the first contest between the Griffs and the Orange since Dec. 16, 2014.
• The Griffs' home date against Cornell will be the sixth in program history, and the team's first since the 2017-18 season. Canisius leads the all-time series with Cornell 7-3, with four of those seven wins coming at the Koessler Athletic Center.

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