Penn State women’s basketball hasn’t landed a spot in the NCAA Tournament since 2014, but the Lady Lions might have a decent shot to end that drought if they can last through a tough non-conference stretch that features a number of RPI-bolstering opponents.

12th-year head coach Coquese Washington and her team will play four teams that made it to the Big Dance in 2018. Three of those games — against PAC-12 contender Cal (Nov. 11), mid-major powerhouse Princeton (Nov. 18), and Patriot League champion American (Dec. 16) — will be at home. The road game will be against Florida State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Thursday, November 29.

The Lady Lions will play just one more road conference game against Fordham on Wednesday, November 14.

The other six games during the slate will all be at the Bryce Jordan Center, including the opener against Providence (Nov. 8), as well as matchups with UCF (Nov. 21), Stony Brook (Nov. 25), Jacksonville State (Dec. 1 or 2), Duquesne (Dec. 5), and St. Bonaventure (Dec. 9).

The schedule for Big Ten play likely won’t be announced until August, but Penn State knows its opponents for the 18-game conference slate:

• Home and Away: Illinois, Maryland, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
• Home: Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue
• Away: Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern