Pittsburg State and Emporia State kick off the schedule on Oct. 30th, and Nov. 3rd. After these two exhibition games, the level of competition increases a notch as Oral Roberts comes to Lawrence on Nov. 10th. Oral Roberts, made it to the NCAA tournament last season after winning the Southland conference tournament championship. After a meeting with SIU-Edwardsville, Kansas takes on Creighton, another NCAA team. SIU-Edwardsville, was a WNIT participant last season.

Minnesota, Central Michigan, Xavier and Duke are all next on the schedule. Each team are worthy opponents, with the Golden Gophers making the WNIT and the other three teams being a part of Paradise Jam. Duke and Central Michigan, both were in the NCAA tournament, while Xavier enjoyed a down year.

Arkansas, Texas Southern, Purdue, Tulsa and Yale finish the non-conference tilt with each game being played at Lawrence. Purdue and Tulsa were both NCAA participants, while Arkansas, and Texas Southern were both WNIT teams.

May 8, 2013; Berkeley, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bonnie Hendrickson released the non-conference schedule on Wednesday.  Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

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Brittany Griner from Baylor was the number one pick of the draft, while Elena Bella Donne went number two to Chicago. Tulsa used their first pick to select Skylar Diggins from Notre Dame. Diggins and the Irish finished off Kansas in the women’s NCAA tournament last month.

Goodrich became the first Jayhawk drafted since 2009 in the WNBA Draft.Goodrich finished her career with 1,262 points and 771 assists, the third-highest total in the Big 12 Conference history. The guard was a finalist for a number of women’s awards including the Naismith award, Wade trophy, and Wooden award.

Goodrich was one of the top point guards in the country, averaging seven assists per contest and nearly three steals. She averaged 14 points per game, and led the team in three-point field goals with 58 on the year.

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April17, 2013; Norfolk, VA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Angel Goodrich guarding future teammate Skylar Diggins in the women’s NCAA tournament last month. Notre Dame won the regional semifinal contest.  Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Fighting Irish enter the game with an 33-1 record overall, while Kansas is proving they belong in the tournament, with an 20-13 record. The Jayhawks have defeated fifth-seeded Colorado, and fourth-seeded South Carolina en route to this regional semifinal vs the Irish. Notre Dame has beaten 16th-seeded UT-Martin, and ninth-seeded Iowa.

Notre Dame is led by point guard Skylar Diggins, who averaged 17 points per game this season to go along with six assists. The guard does it all for the Irish. Kayla McBride has come along in the tournament with a couple of strong games, including an 28-point outburst vs the Hawkeyes. Natalie Achonwa leads the team in rebounds. The forward pulled down 14 rebounds in the team’s 2nd-round win.

Kansas will need to be at full speed for a chance to win this game, as Notre Dame is a very good team that doesn’t make mistakes. The Irish’s only loss came to top-ranked Baylor earlier this season. Jayhawks seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich will be key in this game.

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Mar 30, 2013; Iowa City, IA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Skylar Diggins (4) leads the team into a meeting with Kansas tomorrow.  Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports