Box Score

Ashland, Ohio – The 17^th-ranked UW-Parkside women's basketball team came up just short of its goal of a regional championship, falling at second-ranked Ashland University, 78-65 on Monday night in the Midwest Regional Final. The Rangers wrap up the most successful year in school history at 24-6 which included a Great Lakes Valley Conference Eastern Division title and the program's second straight trip to the Sweet 16.
 
“I'm really proud of our young ladies,” said head coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie.  “Our kids worked so hard and not just for a couple years but for their whole careers. That's what our program is built around. Getting kids that want to commit and play for us for four years and believe in what we do.”
 
Monday night also marked the final game for seniors Kaitlyn Bettiga, Brittany Beyer, Jadee Rooney, and Amy Selk. The quartet became the winningest class in UW-Parkside history and will leave with a career record of 89-31 (.742), two division titles, a GLVC Tournament runner-up, three NCAA Tournament berths, and two trips to the Sweet 16.
 
“Our seniors have been just phenomenal,” said Kenesie. “They have put in so much time and really built this program. It's amazing what they achieved. They believed in our system and gave it all that they had for four straight years. I'm couldn't be prouder of a group of kids.”
 
All four of them were strong in Monday night's final. Rooney led the way with 22 points and three assist. Beyer finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Selk had 10 points and six boards and Bettiga had four more assists and two steals.
 
Ashland's Midwest Region Player of the Year, Kari Daugherty, a transfer from Dayton University, scored a game-high 28 points to go with 12 rebounds.
 
The game was tight throughout as the Rangers came out swinging with a crowd of 2,644, nearly all cheering for the Eagles. There were four ties and ten lead changes in the first half as two of the nation's best teams went after each other for the first 20 minutes.
 
Ashland was able to stretch the lead to seven with just under four minutes left in the half but Jenna Endisch knocked down a three and Bettiga hit two free throws to immediately get with two. Jenna Stutzman hit a three to push the lead back to five but Rooney answered with a late basket to make it a 36-33 heading to the locker room.
 
The Rangers kept battling in the first ten minutes of the half as every time Ashland pushed the lead to six, Parkside answered back.
 
Ashland opened a 54-48 lead with a 10:27 left before the Rangers went on an 8-2 run to tie the game. Rooney knocked down a jumper and then a steal by Jaleesa Trussell led to another Rooney basket to cut the lead to two.
 
The Eagles hit a jumper to go back up four but Parkside fired right back. Bettiga found Selk for a lay-up on a pretty set play and Trussell came back with a steal and went the distance to tie the score at 56.
 
Ashland scored to go back up two but Bettiga drove into the lane for a pull-up jumper to tie it again.
 
Four straight empty possessions pushed the clock under five minutes but this time Ashland came up with the big shots. With the shot clock winding down Daugherty fired a jumper from straight on that banked off the backboard to give the Eagles a two-point lead.
 
After a Ranger miss, Daugherty knocked down another jumper to go up four with 3:24 remaining. Another hoop with 2:48 left pushed it to six. Parkside was forced to foul from there on out and Ashland went 14-for-14 at the line over the final 1:17.
 
The Rangers outscored the Eagles in the paint, 36-16. They also had a 10-0 advantage in fast break points but were outrebounded 38-22. Parkside also won the turnover battle, 15-10.
 
Rooney and Beyer were named to the regional's All-Tournament team for their efforts in Ashland. Rooney averaged 19.0 points per game while Beyer averaged 16.3 points and became the third player in school history to score 500 points in a season. Rooney finished with 499.