UNIVERSITY PARK — The defending Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State Lady Lions announced their 2012-13 non-conference schedule on Thursday.

The 12-game non-conference slate is highlighted by a home contest against Georgetown and road match-ups against-perennial contenders Connecticut and Texas A&M. The Lady Lions will take on eight teams that appeared in last year’s postseason.

The Lady Lions open their season with a home contest against Howard on Nov. 11, before hitting the road for a mid-week meeting with Texas A&M in College Station on Nov. 14 and returning to the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 18 to face Lafayette.

Penn State will head to the West Coast on Thanksgiving to take part in a tournament at Cal State-Northridge. Joining the Lady Lions and Matadors in the tournament will be WNIT participant Detroit and South Alabama. Penn State remains on the road for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 29.

The Lady Lions are back at the Bryce Jordan Center for a weekend date with Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2 before visiting seven-time national champion Connecticut to open a home-and- home series with the Huskies on Dec. 6. It will be Penn State’s first trip to Connecticut since 31 years, as the Lady Lions are 3-7 all-time against the Huskies.

Penn State returns to the BJC to meet Georgetown on Dec. 9. The Lady Lions will be back on the road to visit Virginia Tech on Dec. 12, before returning home for their final two non-conference games against South Dakota State on Dec. 16 and NJIT on Dec. 23.