COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball has been selected to compete in the 2019 Women’s Cancun Challenge, as announced Thursday by the tournament officials. Mizzou will face New Mexico and North Carolina as the tournament will take place over Thanksgiving week (Nov. 28-29) at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera.

It will be the second time Mizzou has competed in the Cancun Challenge, after the Tigers went 1-2 at the 2012 Tournament.

This year’s Cancun Challenge field features 10 teams in two formats. The Mayan Tournament includes Florida Gulf Coast, Notre Dame, South Dakota State and South Florida, while the Riviera Tournament features Creighton, Mizzou, New Mexico, North Carolina, Temple and West Virginia. Games take place in the modified ballroom of the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, in a setting where teams and fans can walk from their rooms to the restaurants to the games.

Mizzou will play two games in the tournament, first facing off against New Mexico on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. CT, followed by a matchup with North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Mizzou is 2-1 all-time against New Mexico, and 0-1 against North Carolina. The Lobos are coming off a 24-7 and WNIT appearance in 2018-19, while the Tar Heels are coming off an 18-15 campaign and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19.

In 2019-20, Mizzou will return three players who started a majority of Mizzou’s games in 2018-19, including second-leading scorer senior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) who averaged 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in her junior campaign. Also returning for the Tigers will be senior guard Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) and redshirt senior forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.), who started 24 and 19 games, respectively, in 2018-19. Roundtree averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while Schuchts scored 3.7 points per game and the team in blocks with 41.

Cancun Challenge schedule (all times ET, local time Cancun; home team listed second):

Thursday, Nov. 28
Mayan Tournament
South Dakota State vs. South Florida, 11 a.m. ET
Florida Gulf Coast vs. Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. ET

Riviera Tournament
Mizzou vs. New Mexico, 4 p.m. ET
West Virginia vs. Creighton, 6 :30 p.m. ET
Temple vs. North Carolina, 9 p.m. ET

Friday, Nov. 29
Mayan Tournament
Notre Dame vs. South Dakota State, 11 a.m. ET
South Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1:30 p.m. ET

Riviera Tournament
New Mexico vs. West Virginia, 4 p.m. ET
North Carolina vs. Mizzou, 6:30 p.m. ET
Creighton vs. Temple, 9 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 30
Mayan Tournament
South Florida vs. Notre Dame, 11 a.m. ET
South Dakota State vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1:30 p.m. ET

— Mizzou Athletics —