Ashland, Ohio - Division II's version of “March Madness” kicks off on Friday afternoon and the UW-Parkside women's basketball team is right in the middle of it all. The Rangers are part of the “Big Dance” for the third straight year as they head to Ashland in search of their “One Shining Moment.”
 
Parkside, the third seed in the Midwest Region, opens play on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. central time against Great Lakes Valley Conference Eastern Division foe, Indianapolis. The teams met twice during the regular season with the Rangers pulling out a pair of narrow victories.
 
Parkside won at Indianapolis, 73-70 on January 28. Kaitlyn Bettiga broke a 70-70 tie with a three-point play with: 14 left. Jadee Rooney led Parkside with 23 points while Brittany Beyer had 22. Kristin Turner had a game-high 24 points for the Greyhounds.
 
The Rangers used a late run in the second meeting to earn a 72-65 win at home on February 18. Beyer and Rooney flipped points with 23 and 22 respectively. Katy McIntosh had 19 for Indianapolis.
 
But those results will be thrown out the window when the two teams play the first of four games scheduled for Friday at the Midwest Regional in the Kates Gymnasium on the campus of Ashland University. The winner of the Parkside-Indianapolis contest will take on the winner of the Ferris State University (2-seed) versus Drury University (7-seed) quarterfinal that is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
 
The night session features Ashland University (1-seed) against Maryville University (8-seed) at 5:00 p.m. The final game of the night is an all-GLVC affair with Northern Kentucky University (4-seed) taking on Quincy University (5-seed).
 
A Ranger win would move them into the regional semifinals on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The second semifinal between the winners of Friday night's session will meet at 6:30 p.m. The NCAA Midwest Regional Final with the two surviving teams is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday night. The winner of the regional advances to the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas on March 20. Click HERE to see the entire Championship bracket.
 
All postseason games can be heard live locally on NewsTalk 1400 (AM) WRJN and online at www.gatewaysportsweb.org. You can also follow the live stats of the game HERE.