Box Score
Ashland, Ohio – The UW-Parkside women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 73-66 victory over the University of Indianapolis on Friday afternoon. The Rangers used an 18-2 run over a seven-and-a-half minute stretch late in the second half to secure their third win of the season against their conference rival.
"It's always hard to beat a team three times," said head coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie. "Down the stretch we made some big plays. Everyone who played did some nice things for us. It was a dogfight and we're very fortunate and happy to come away with a victory."
Jadee Rooney led the Rangers with 19 points, all of which came in the second half.
Jenna Endisch provided 13 points off the bench on 5-of-6 from the floor.
Brittany Beyer finished with 12 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
Amy Selk joined the trio in double digits with ten points.
Parkside improved to 23-5 on the year heading into Saturday's regional semifinal. They will face Ferris State University at 4:00 p.m. central time in the Kates Gymnasium. The Bulldogs moved on with a 74-56 win over Drury University in the second quarterfinal. Indianapolis finishes its season at 19-11 with three losses coming at the hands of the Rangers.
Saturday's semifinal can be heard locally in Kenosha/Racine on NewsTalk 1400 WRJN (AM) and online at gatewaysportsweb.org
Friday's regional quarterfinal played out very similar to the teams' two regular season meetings that the Rangers pulled out in the final minutes. It appeared the Greyhounds were ready to earn a win in the most important meeting of the season when Kristin Turner knocked down a jumper to make it 56-49 Indianapolis with 11:02 left in regulation.
It was from there that the Rangers roared back, embarking on the critical run that extended their season at least one more day.
Beyer scored on a jumper in the lane and Rooney followed with two free throws. Sydney Weinart got it back to five for the Greyhounds with a lay-up at the 8:35 mark. That would be Indy's last points for almost six minutes as the Parkside defense tightened up and let the offense take over.
Beyer came back with two straight baskets to get the Rangers within a point. Then it was Rooney; her slicing scoop shot found the basket and drew a foul with 5:15 left. The ensuing free throw made it 60-58.
They weren't done as Endisch scored with her left hand on the fast break to put Parkside up by four. She followed that by lining up a three from the top the key to push the cushion to seven.
Rooney's two free throws with 3:37 remaining gave Parkside a 67-58 lead, its biggest of the day.
The Greyhounds were not done as they scored six in a row to get within three with just 79 seconds remaining.
But once again it was Rooney. The Markesan senior came up with another clutch shot and a drive to the hoop with a minute left to go back up by five. She iced the game with four more free throws, going 11-for-11 from the foul line in the second half, and leading the Rangers to the win.
Parkside shot 51.9% for the game and finished 17-for-18 at the free throw line (94.4%). The Rangers also held a decided advantage on the boards finishing with a 37-26 edge.
Kristin Turner, the GLVC's leading scorer in the regular season, led the Greyhounds with 15 points. Katy McIntosh finished with 14. Each player had 13 points at half but combined for just three in the final 20 minutes.
"We just played so much better defensively (in the second half)," said Knight-Kenesie. "Off the basketball we did a better job of getting into gaps and clogged things up."
The Rangers will now prepare for Saturday's regional semifinal with Ferris State. The two programs have met just three times prior with the Bulldogs holding a 2-1 series advantage. The last meeting came way back in December of 2002, a 68-62 Ranger win. Ferris State will enter Saturday's contest with a record of 23-6.
