Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball team heads to Hays this weekend for two rare neutral site games.

The Lopers (2-0) will face the Newman University Jets (4-0) on Friday and the Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions (0-2) on Saturday. Check the UNK schedule page for tip times and media links.

Newman, from Wichita, is a member of the Heartland Conference and has played the Lopers only once in women's basketball. Kearney won that matchup, 83-44, back in the 2007-08 season. UCCS is an old RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) rival that recently has become one of that league's powers. Last year, the Mountain Lions went 24-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The NU Jets are off to a 4-0 start thanks to wins over two NAIA foes, RMAC-member New Mexico Highlands and former RMAC member Western New Mexico. Newman is coming off a 19-10 season in which reached the Heartland Tourney quarterfinals.

This team is led by 5-9 senior guard Hannah Alexander (15.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game) and 6-1 redshirt freshman post Abbey George (10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game). George, from Australia, is shooting 62 percent from the field with Alexander earning first-team all-league honors as a junior.

To date, Newman has held its opponents to 25 percent field goal shooting, has a plus 13 rebounding margin and forces 22 turnovers nightly.

UCCS graduated its top three scorers off last year's team and that has resulted in a young team falling to West Texas A & M, 61-34, and Wayne State, 69-61 (OT), at home. The Mountain Lions face Fort Hays State on Friday.

In the early going, 5-10 redshirt senior forward Shanah Leaf is averaging 15.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Shooting 65 percent from the field, she is 2 for 2 from behind the arc.

UNK enters the week aiming for its first 3-0 start since going 4-0 to begin 2007-08. The Lopers have a plus 15.5 rebounding margin, are shooting 73 percent at the line and holding the opposition to 29 percent shooting from the field.

Individually, seniors Michaela Barry (965) and McKenzie Brown (951) are closing in on 1,000 career points. Brown is the only Loper in her fourth year in the program with Barry having previously played at Wayne and Hastings College. The duo have also combined to make 337 threes in their careers.

 Prior to Thanksgiving, UNK heads to rival Chadron State (2-0) on Tuesday night.