Dec.21 — at North Texas:

The University of North Texas Mean Green are 4-4 on the season at this point and have big losses to ranked teams, Texas A&M; University and Oklahoma State University.

Forward Briesha Wynn leads the way for the Mean Green, averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game.

Acheil Tac, a sophomore, is UNT’s leading rebounder, averaging close to nine rebounds per game so watch to see how SMU contains her.

Dec. 29 — at Louisville:

The University of Louisville Cardinals are the defending NCAA runner-ups to the University of Connecticut and are off to another strong start at 9-1.

Shoni Schimmel leads the team with an average over 13 points per game and 44 assists this year. The Cardinals rebound the ball well as a team, with all five starters grabbing over four rebounds per game.

Jan. 1 — at Cincinnati:

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats are 4-4 on the season so far, but SMU will have to contain top scorers Jeanise Randolph and Dayeesha Hollins; both average over 11 points per game.

Hollins and Bianca Quisenberry are solid rebounders, averaging 6.8 and 5.3 respectively.

Jan. 4 — vs South Florida:

The University of South Florida Bulls are 5-3 on the season without any major games played so far, but do face Oklahoma State Dec. 14. USF is also SMU’s first game back at Moody Coliseum for the women, so expect the Mustangs to come out with great energy and passion.

The Bulls are led by Courtney Williams, who is averaging over 15 points per game while coming off the bench for the majority of the Bull’s games.

Jan. 7 — vs Memphis:

The University of Memphis comes to SMU to visit the Mustangs in their third American Athletic Conference game at that point.

The Tigers are 4-5 on the season right now and their top scorer by far is Ariel Hearn, who is averaging over 17 points per game while logging over 34 minutes per game.

Hearn shoots over 45 percent from three-point range so SMU will have to make sure they close out on Hearn whenever she has the ball from beyond the arc.

Jan. 11 — at Rutgers:

The Rutgers University Scarlet Knights are 6-2 on the year as of right now and are playing well, after winning two games in a row.

Rutgers will be one of the tougher teams that SMU faces in conference play and due to their balanced scoring.

Three of their five starters average over 10 points per game and one player off the bench is averaging over 10 per game as well.

The Scarlet Knights’ leading scorer is Kahleah Copper, who is averaging over 16 points per game.

Jan. 14 — at Temple:

The 4-2 Temple University Owls have had an up-and-down start to the year, but as the team settles in, SMU will have to be ready for another balanced scoring attack.

Four of the five starters average over 10 points per game and Feyonda Fitzgerald is averaging close to 15 points per game.

Natasha Thames is another player to watch, who is averaging 12.8 points per game and seven rebounds, but Thames has just as many offensive rebounds as she does on the defensive side so SMU will have to limit her second chance opportunities.