CONFERENCE SEASON BEGINS!!

The Road to Richmond hits an important milestone this weekend, as Atlantic 10 Conference play gets underway!

Seven games are scheduled between Saturday and Sunday:

UMass (6-6) at St. Bonaventure (10-3), Saturday, 1pm: The Minutewomen look to match their conference win total of last season (one) in their opener against a Bonnies squad coming off a 24-win season a year ago, with the second-best non-conference record this year.

Duquesne (8-5) at Rhode Island (8-4), Saturday, 1pm: The Dukes have overcome an 0-3 start to win eight of their last their last ten games. Five of those wins came on the road, where they will be for the conference opener. It's the Atlantic 10 coaching debut for new Rams head coach Daynia La-Force. Opponents are shooting just 25.4% from behind the three-point line against Rhode Island so far this season.

VCU (9-4) at Saint Joseph's (4-8), Saturday, 7pm: It's been a disappointing road so far for the team with the highest RPI in the league a year ago, the Hawks, who also owned the only conference win in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Cindy Griffin will have her team ready for conference play as the Rams come to Philadelphia in Beth O'Boyle's A-10 coaching debut for VCU, who have won five straight, but are just 3-4 away from the Siegel Center. Isis Thorpe is averaging 11 points a game, Meadowbrook grad Ashley Pegram just over 10. Pegram is also 24-for-26 at the free throw line so far this season.

La Salle (9-4) at Davidson (4-9), Sunday, 2pm: Davidson makes its Atlantic 10 debut at home against one of the bigger surprises so far this season in the Explorers, who have won nine of their past eleven games. Micahya Owens leads the team scoring over 13 points per game. The team shoots 37 percent from three-point land. Hannah Early has led the Wildcats in scoring in nine of their fourteen games.

Saint Louis (7-6) at George Mason (8-5), Sunday, 2pm (NBC Sports Network): Two teams desperate to break into the upper echelon of the conference face off in Fairfax. The Patriots have already met their win total of a year ago (8-23), looking to do much better than their 1-15 conference mark from last season. The Billikens were 7-9 in the Atlantic 10 a year ago and come into Sunday's matchup off a good 73-68 win at home over Ball State on Tuesday. George Mason will look to A-10 leading scorer Taylor Brown, averaging 24.3 points per game.

Richmond (8-4) at Fordham (8-5), Sunday, 3:30pm (CBS Sports Network): It was an up-and-down non-conference season for the Spiders with winning and losing streaks on their mark. They begin Atlantic 10 play in the Bronx against the defending tournament champions, who, too, have had an uneven start to their campaign. The Rams are struggling offensively, averaging just 58.8 points per game, 13th in the 14-team conference. The Spiders average 67.3 points per game, led by Janelle Hubbard's 13.3 and Lauren Tolson's 12.5. Emily Tapio leads Fordham with 12.6 ppg.

George Washington (11-2) at Dayton (9-3), Sunday, 3:30pm (ESPNU): A HUGE conference opener, as the Colonials, holders of the best non-conference record in the Atlantic 10, heads into Ohio to face the overwhelming preseason favorite to, again, win the regular season conference title. The veteran Flyers are 9-3, led again by Preseason Player of the Year Andrea Hoover, second in the conference in point per game average at 20.3. Ally Malott, who impressed at the Richmond Coliseum in last year's conference tournament, averages 15.8 points per game. Jonquel Jones leads the Colonials in scoring at 15.2 per contest, getting help from Kelli Prange (11.4) and Caira Washington (10.8). Possible difference here? Team defense, where the Colonials average allowing 58 points per game, while the Flyers give up almost 70.