DePaul women’s basketball will go through a rigorous non-conference schedule before they attempt to defend their Big East crown.

The non-conference schedule for the Blue Demons was announced and will feature three teams who were in the “Elite 8” last season.

DePaul will open up with the team they closed their 2013-2014 season with, Texas A&M. The Aggies bounced DePaul in the Sweet 16 last year in an 84-65 victory. They will be the first opponent for DePaul in the Maggie Dixon Classic, a three-day tournament in which the opponents are already set. DePaul will face Texas Pan-American, followed by New Mexico in the days to follow. The tournament will go from Nov. 14-16.

DePaul will play one game at All-State Arena, hosting Bradley on Nov. 18.^. They host South Dakota State and Northwestern, before traveling to Chicago State.

One of the biggest matchups will come Dec. 10 when the Blue Demons host old Big East Conference foes, Notre Dame. Notre Dame was the NCAA runner-up last year, losing only the championship game to Connecticut.

Nine days later, DePaul will travel to face the very Connecticut team that downed Notre Dame in the Championship game. The location is TBA, but the game against the reigning champions, who haven’t lost a game since the 2013 Big East Tournament, is one of the marquee matchups of the non-conference schedule.

The Blue Demons will close out 2014 with a Dec. 28 game against Illinois State. From there, they will embark on their 18-game Big East Conference schedule, which is yet to be announced.

While the schedule is rigorous, the Blue Demons will have the advantage of not having to travel very far for their games. DePaul hosts eight of the 12 non-conference games, two more are against teams in Chicago and another one is in Bloomington, Illinois against Chicago State. The only time they will travel outside of Illinois will be when they travel to face Connecticut.