The 2014-2015 basketball season begins on Saturday for both the men's and women's teams at Benedictine University, as each one will host a non-conference matchup at the Dan and Ada Rice Center. At 4:00 p.m., the women's team will tip-off the new year against the Britons of Albion College.
 
Last season, the Eagles finished with a 12-14 overall record and 10-6 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference mark. The team earned the fifth seed in the NACC Tournament, falling to Edgewood College 63-45 in the first round. With nine returnees, including All-NACC First Team honoree Meghan Novak, the Eagles were selected to place fourth in the conference's pre-season poll.
 
The Britons hail from Albion, Michigan and compete in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 2013-2014, Albion placed in a tie for sixth in the MIAA with a 5-11 conference record and 9-16 overall record. Albion was a strong rebounding team last season, finishing fourth in the MIAA at 41.8 boards per game. However, the team struggled from the outside, shooting .245% on three-point attempts. BenU led the NACC in three-point percentage at .350.
 
Saturday will be the first meeting between the two programs in 11 years, as Albion defeated BenU on December 5, 2003 in Michigan. The Britons have had success against NACC opponents, as the team has won each MIAA-NACC matchup since the victory over BenU: defeating Aurora University in 2008 and Dominican University in 2005, 2012, and 2013. Benedictine's last win over a MIAA school was in 2001 against Adrian College, and the Eagles have not played a MIAA team since falling to Hope College in 2005.
 
Live audio, video, and statistics will be available for Saturday's contest at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/benu/. An in-depth preview on this season's Benedictine women's basketball team can be found here.