WICHITA – Newman women's basketball will play University of Kansas on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the historic Allen Fieldhouse with a start time of 2 p.m., announced Athletic Director Vic Trilli on Wednesday. This will be the first meeting between the Jets and Jayhawks.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Newman University," stated Athletic Director Vic Trilli. "This will be an exciting game for the team as they get the opportunity to play in the legendary Allen Fieldhouse."

Both teams are coming off successful seasons. Newman finished the season winning the Heartland Conference Championship, finishing with a 23-6 record. The Jayhawks made a NCAA Tournament appearance, finishing 21-13 for the season.

The Jets have a new team as first-year coach, Darin Spence recruited hard to replace the five starters of the 2011-12 season; the only returners for Newman are seniors Anna Sonka, Kianna Flannagan and Sumayyah Muhammad.

As for KU, the 2012-13 season brings an experience team with four returning starters, plus five returners. That includes All-American Honorable Mentions seniors Angel Goodrich and Carolyn Davis.

Although this is Newman's first meeting with KU, it is not Coach Spence's first meeting. Coach Spence has played the Jayhawks twice (1-1) in his career at New Mexico State. The relationships that Coach Spence built while at N.M. State led to the game with KU.

"The relationships you build are very important as you develop professionally," said Coach Spence. "This will be a positive experience for Newman as well as the players. The ladies will have to play at a different level at Allen Fieldhouse, but this will prepare the team for conference."

Newman plays at William Jewell the day before, followed by hosting McPherson College on Dec. 12.

--www.newmanjets.com--