The defending national champion Lancer women's basketball team will open the 2011-12 season this Friday night when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs at the St. Denis Centre.

To watch the games live via webcast, visit the SSN Network at: http://www.ssncanada.ca/media/index.html 
 
In a pre-game ceremony, the Lancers will be presented with their championship rings by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Richard Peddie and University of Windsor President Alan Wildeman and will have their championship banner raised into the rafters of the St. Denis Centre.
 
The ceremony will begin at precisely 5:55pm, so fans are asked to arrive early. Doors open at 5:00pm, and tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.goLancers.ca.
 
Coming off a dominating season in the CIS last season, the Windsor Lancers will again look to be successful in 2011-2012.
 
The top-seeded and tournament host Windsor Lancers captured the first Bronze Baby Trophy in program history thanks to a 63-49 win over the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies in the gold-medal final of the CIS women's basketball Final 8. In addition to being the Lancers' first national title, it marked the first time in the 40-year history of the championship that a team got to hoist the Bronze Baby on home court.
 
As well, the victory by the reigning three-time OUA champions put an end to a remarkable 19-year domination by Canada West schools, including institutions from the now defunct Great Plains conference.
 
The Lancers will again be the team to beat.  Leading the charge for the Lancers this will be 6-3 junior forward Jessica Clemencon (St. Rambert, France), the winner of the prestigious 2011 BLG Award as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Athlete of the Year. She was also named the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Player of the Year and OUA Athlete of the Year after leading the conference in scoring with 19.1 PPG and finishing second in the OUA with a 55.1 FG%.
 
Windsor has a strong returning class led by 5-8 junior guard and OUA West All-Star Team member Miah-Marie Langlois (11.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.9 steals per game) from Windsor, Ont., plus 5-9 sophomore guard Korissa Williams (Windsor, Ont.), a member of the OUA West All-Rookie Team who averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG. Williams was also a member of Canada's team that placed 5th  this past summer at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Chile. 
 
The Lancers recruiting class features: 6-4 Tessa Kreiger (London, Ont.), 5-9 Francesca Bellehumeur-Moya (Ottawa), 5-9 Anna Mullins (Windsor, Ont.) and Bethanie Wachna (Windsor, Ont.), a fourth-year forward who transferred from Division 1 Clemson University.
 
"We are fortunate to play in an extremely competitive conference, and each year the level of the OUA increases,” said Lancers head coach Chantal Vallée. “As a Lancers team, we want to compete our best every game. We have high expectations and I am sure our goal is similar to many other teams in this conference – to win. I coached the team that finished first in Canada last year, but this year no one has won yet."
 
The Department of Athletics will also recognize the CIS champion men's and women's track & field teams by raising their championship banners at the halftime of the women's game.
 
Fans can purchase individual game tickets for $8 for adults and $5 for youth (under 12) and seniors (over 65). University of Windsor students get in free with a valid student card. Fans can also purchase season tickets for only $50, and get you into all men's and women's basketball regular season home games. Season tickets are available at the door or online at www.goLancers.ca.