Long Beach State head women’s basketball coach Jody Wynn has announced the 49ers’ schedule for the 2012-13 season. LBSU will host eight of its 12 non-conference games at the Walter Pyramid.

“Last year, we played almost all of our non-conference games on the road, so we welcome these quality return games here in the Pyramid, including Pac-12 foes Arizona and Washington, as well as four teams from New York,” Wynn said. “We will be playing teams from across the nation and we have a great balance of opponents that will challenge and prepare us for a very competitive Big West Conference season.”

Long Beach State kicks off the campaign on Friday, Nov. 9, when it welcomes Sacramento State to the Walter Pyramid for a 7:00pm showdown. The 49ers will also host Iona College at 2:00pm on November 11.

LBSU then makes the short trek to West Coast Conference opponent Loyola Marymount (Nov. 15) and hosts the University of Washington on Nov. 18 before making its first true road trip on Thanksgiving weekend. The 49ers are set to travel to Utah Valley for a game on Nov. 23, and two days later they will be in Northern California for a match-up at perennial NCAA powerhouse Stanford. The Cardinal have made five-straight Final Four appearances and advanced to the championship game in 2008 and 2010.

Long Beach State returns home and will have a week to prepare for a pair of tough contests against Arizona (Dec. 2) and Santa Clara (Dec. 9).

After traveling south for a Saturday meeting with San Diego (Dec. 15), the 49ers host the third annual Beach Classic. Long Beach State opens the tournament against Canisius at 5 p.m. on Dec. 20 and depending on the outcome, it will face either Sam Houston State or 2012 NCAA Tournament participant Albany on Dec. 21. LBSU will then host Columbia (Dec. 29) in its final tune-up before beginning its 18-game conference slate.

The 49ers start Big West action at home for the third consecutive year as they entertain Cal Poly (Jan. 3) and UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 5) in the first weekend of league play. The conference schedule will also feature new Big West member Hawaii this year.

“This will be a very competitive Big West season,” Wynn said. “I believe there will be more parity within the league than there has been in a very long time.”

The Big West Tournament is slated for March 13-16. The first round will be held at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center on Wednesday, March 13, while the semifinals (March 15) and finals (March 16) will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim.