BOONEVILLE, Miss. - As the expectations rise for the Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball program, so too does the strength of its schedule.
The Lady Tigers will play six opponents this season that appeared in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I rankings during the previous campaign.
That includes three teams that rose into the top five in Chipola (Fla.) College, Shelton State (Ala.) Community College and Tyler (Texas) Junior College, which held the preseason number one spot after winning the national championship in 2022.
"My mindset is our league is extremely competitive," said Northeast head coach Chelsey Rhodes. "I don't want to go through a non-conference schedule where we're cruising through. I want us to be completely prepared."
The Lady Tigers will tangle with formerly top-ranked Tyler on a neutral floor during their opening weekend trip to the Lady Bear Classic hosted by Baton Rouge (La.) Community College.
The other five rated programs come to historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum. Three of them are part of an outstanding field for the inaugural Northeast Thanksgiving Classic from November 20-21.
There will be three games each day during this holiday tournament. Joining Chipola and Shelton State are fellow conference members for the Lady Tigers in Coahoma Community College, East Mississippi Community College plus Pearl River Community College.
Northeast's first home contest is on Tuesday, November 7 against Arkansas State University Mid-South. The Lady Tigers have an even 15 games inside its own venue and 15 on the road.
A highlight for Rhodes and her assistant Aspriona Gilbert is a home-and-home series with Snead State (Ala.) Community College, which is directed by their former head coach as players and later their boss at Delta State University in Craig Roden.
"That'll be one for the books for sure," Rhodes said. "It's just going to be fun to be on the other side and just competing. We're both competitors. We both want to win. We still talk at least twice a week."
Northeast closes the fall semester with four consecutive road matchups. The Lady Tigers return from their extended Christmas break to welcome Volunteer State (Tenn.) Community College on Thursday, January 4.
There are two changes inside the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC). The most significant is the return of traditional men's and women's doubleheaders for the first time since before the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The start of league play was also pushed back to the middle of January in order to align with a later date for the national tournament in Wyoming. Northeast's initial MACCC contest is on the 18th at Coahoma.
The Lady Tigers host Itawamba Community College for the only meeting this year between the archrivals on Monday, January 29. March Madness begins in earnest when Pearl River comes to town for the regular season finale on the seventh.