A gauntlet is the best way to describe the Southeastern Conference in women's basketball.Last season, Mississippi State navigated it with 16 wins en route to hoisting the program's first SEC title. This season's journey will once again be challenging, as five of the Bulldogs' eight home league games come against opponents that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.This year's league schedule also sees's squad face home-and-home contests against LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina."The Southeastern Conference schedule is always a grind. In our mind, it's 16 rivalry games," Schaefer, the 2018 SEC and Naismith Coach of the Year, said. "In this league, you have to be ready to play every night, because if you're not, you're not only going to get beat but you'll get embarrassed. We have a tough opener on the road once again, but thanks to our non-conference schedule we will be ready."The Bulldogs' quest to repeat begins on the Jan. 3 at Arkansas. It marks the 14th time in the last 18 years State has started SEC play away from Starkville.MSU opens its home SEC schedule Jan. 6 against Kentucky, and it welcomes Georgia to Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 10.Schaefer's squad heads to Auburn on Mon., Jan. 14, before heading back to the Hump Jan. 17 for the first of two matchups against South Carolina. State ventures to Columbia for the regular-season finale on March 3.Following a Jan. 24 trip to Florida, MSU closes the opening month of league play with the first of two matchups against both Ole Miss and LSU.Fans are encouraged to wear black and fill the Hump Jan. 27 as State seeks its 10th-straight victory in the in-state rivalry against Ole Miss. MSU travels to Oxford on Feb. 21.The Bulldogs head to LSU Jan. 31 seeking a third-straight victory in Baton Rouge. State wraps the regular-season home slate against the Tigers on Feb. 28.MSU begins the final full month of the regular season at Alabama on Feb. 3. The team's final open date of the season comes before it returns to the Hump for a two-game homestand against Tennessee (Feb. 10) and Missouri (Feb. 14).Back-to-back road trips to Texas A&M (Feb. 17) and Ole Miss (Feb. 21) precede the final two home games of the year: Vanderbilt on Feb. 24 and LSU on Feb. 28.After wrapping the regular season at South Carolina, State returns to the state for the SEC Tournament in Greenville March 6-10.Times and television dates will be announced at a later time.