The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team has put its 2026-27 non-conference schedule on the board, and Katrina Merriweather’s group will begin it Nov. 4 at Fifth Third Arena against East Texas A&M. The slate runs 13 games and includes seven home contests, giving the Bearcats a clear first look at how the season will be shaped before league play arrives.
That is why the Lions Schedule is drawing attention now: fans can already circle the dates that matter, from Penn State and Saint Joseph’s at home to road trips to UMES, UNLV and Toledo, plus the annual Crosstown Shootout at Xavier on Dec. 15. Season tickets are on sale now, and the schedule announcement gives Cincinnati supporters a full map of November and December before the first exhibition is even played.
The opener carries a personal edge, too. Merriweather will face Valerie King, a former Cincinnati teammate who now coaches the Lions, in a first game that is about more than simply starting the year on time. Cincinnati also listed an Oct. 28 exhibition against Georgetown College, which means the Bearcats’ first stretch will move quickly from a tune-up into a schedule that asks them to prove themselves early.
That early test is what makes this non-conference slate feel more demanding than a soft opening built around home dates. Cincinnati has seven home games, but it also has to leave Fifth Third Arena for an in-season trip to Mexico for the 2026 Cancun Challenge from Nov. 26-28 at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, where it will face Miami (Ohio) and Minnesota at 9 p.m. ET on consecutive nights. With Bellarmine, Ball State and IU Indy still to come in December, the Bearcats will learn quickly whether this schedule can carry them into the winter with momentum.
For Merriweather, the next step is already set: the exhibition against Georgetown College on Oct. 28, then the season opener four days later against East Texas A&M. After that, the rest of the Lions Schedule stops being a release and becomes the season itself.
