STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team has rounded out its 2015-16 non-conference schedule and will compete in the Maggie Dixon Classic against Maryland on Monday, December 28. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The December 28 showdown will be the first of a three-game series between the two programs. UConn will travel to Maryland in 2016-17 while the Terps will play at UConn during the 2017-18 season.
The contest will be a rematch of last year’s national semifinal tilt in Tampa, which the Huskies won, 81-58, en route to a 10th national championship. December 28 will mark Maryland’s first appearance in the Maggie Dixon Classic while the Huskies will be participating in the game for the fifth time.
The Maggie Dixon Classic is an annual early season women’s college basketball tournament that was first played in 2006. The classic is played in honor of Maggie Dixon who in April 2006, just after leading the Army women’s basketball team to their first ever NCAA Tournament, died suddenly due to an arrhythmia caused by a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
Since the 2009 Classic, the family of Maggie Dixon has presented the Maggie Dixon Courage Award. This award is presented to an individual who exhibits courage in the face of adversity and continues to exemplify Dixon’s mantra of never allowing adversity get in the way of achieving a dream. The award is always presented by Dixon’s sister Julie Dixon Silva and by Pittsburgh men’s basketball head coach and Dixon’s older brother Jamie Dixon. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma was honored with award in 2014.
