FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 15, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team opens up divisional play this week, heading down to the Bluegrass State on Thursday for a showdown with Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division nemesis Bellarmine University before concluding the trip on Saturday at McKendree University.

The Rangers tip off at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday in Louisville, Ky. against the Knights and take to the court on 1 p.m. on Saturday in Lebanon, Ill. against the Bearcats. Live stats along with video and audio will be available for both games. Eric Zizich will be providing commentary on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (8-4, 2-2 GLVC) completed its interdivisional schedule with a 2-2 record, splitting a pair of contests last week inside DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers edged Rockhurst University 59-57 on Thursday before falling 64-61 on Saturday against William Jewell College.

Against Rockhurst, Jaleesa Trussell nailed a layup with 44 seconds left and Danielle Slivka added a free throw with seven ticks left as the Rangers held on to win their GLVC home opener 59-57 on Jan, 10.

UW-Parkside led by as many as 17 points in the opening half but a 20-5 run spanning both halves pulled the Hawks back into the contest. Jenna Endisch paced the Rangers with 19 points with four assists while Slivka added 12 points.

On Saturday against the Cardinals, UWP trailed by double digits in the opening half in a contest featuring five lead changes and two ties.

An Endisch three-pointer sparked an 11-0 run to pull with a point with 18:23 left in the second half. Jewell responded with a 28-17 run to reclaim a double digit lead with 7:53 remaining.  The Rangers closed the game on a 9-2 run and had a chance to tie the game, but a three with five seconds left misfired, sending UWP a rare home defeat.

Slivka posted a career-high 14 points while grabbing 10 boards for her first double-double of the season. Trussell tallied 13 with Sierra West chipping in 12 points along with a game-high eight assists.

On the season, Endisch leads the team averaging 14.3 points per game while Gaby Bronson adds 10.5 ppg and 5.2 rebounds per game. Slivka leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0 rpg while West dishes out 5.1 assists per contest.

Jan. 17 vs. Bellarmine at Knights Hall (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Knights have met 29 times on the hardwood with Bellarmine owning an 18-11 edge.

Last Season: The two squads split the series last season, both earning victories on their home floors. The Knights downed the Rangers 82-79 on Jan. 21 in Louisville while UW-Parkside returned the favor 21 days later, downing BU 72-50 inside DeSimone Gymnasium. The victory was part of the Rangers' nine-game win streak to end the conference season, culminating in a GLVC East Division Championship.

About the Knights: Bellarmine (11-4, 1-3 GLVC) returned to Louisville empty handed after its first GLVC road trip, falling 71-61 to University of Missouri-Saint Louis and 84-63 to Maryville University.

The Knights began the season by winning 10 of its 11 non-conference games, including nine straight to close out the calendar year. Since then, BU's lone triumph was a 65-55 win over the University of Illinois Springfield on Jan. 5 inside Knights Hall.

Betsy Goodin is the lone BU player averaging in double figures at 11.4 points per game. Rachel Greenwell, Darion Hutchinson and Kylie Brady all average 8.9 ppg while Hutchinson leads the squad on the glass with 6.9 rebounds per game. Brady dishes out 4.0 assists per game while Theresa Montano leads the team with 22 steals on the season.

The Knights are one of the nation's top rebounding squads, ranking second in the GLVC and 10th nationally (out of 277) with a +9.9 rebounding margin.

Jan. 19 vs. McKendree at the Melvin Price Convocation Center (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and have met just once on the hardwood. UW-Parkside dropped a 66-65 decision to the Bearcats in Lebanon, Ill. during the 1992-1993 season. This is McKendree's first season as a member of the GLVC; the Bearcats previously competed in the NAIA as an independent in 2011-2012 and as a member of the American Midwest Conference prior to that.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (5-7, 0-4 GLVC) heads into Thursday's matchup against Lewis still searching for its first GLVC win, having lost its opening four conference games and five of its last six games overall.

The Bearcats stumbled 68-51 to Maryville on Jan. 10 while suffering a 65-50 setback to UMSL two days later.

Caty Ponce leads the Bearcats and the league in scoring, averaging 17.8 ppg. Liz Gilman adds 11.3 ppg while Brittany Willis adds 9.5 ppg. Shelby Woelfel powers McKendree on the glass, averaging 7.8 rpg while also adding 7.4 ppg.

McK ranks third in the GLVC in three-pointers made per game (6.3) but is ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring margin (-4.4) and rebounding margin (-7.5).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks ninth nationally in free throw percentage (77.9 percent), and 13th in field goal percentage, hitting 44.6 percent from the floor. The Rangers also sit 33rd nationally in steals per game, averaging 12.0 per game.

Individually, Sierra West is second in the GLVC and 20th nationally in assists per game, dishing out 5.1 per contest. Endisch rates 16th in three-pointers per game, averaging 2.92 made while Gaby Bronson is 44th in free throw percentage, hitting 85.7 percent (36-for-42) of her opportunities from the charity stripe.

5x12: The Rangers have utilized the same starting lineup in all 12 games this season. Endisch, Bronson, Trussell, West and Slivka have been the only starting five this season for UWP while Tara Knapstein is the only other Ranger to appear in all 12 games. Knapstein averages 5.3 ppg and is tied for second on the team in steals with 21 on the year.

Cardiac Kids: All four of the Rangers' GLVC games have been decided by four points or less and five of their last six games had a four-point margin or less. UWP opened GLVC play with a three-point defeat at Missouri S&T University before tallying a four-point win over Drury University and a two-point victory over Rockhurst. Saturday was a three-point defeat against Jewell while on Dec. 19 the Rangers downed Washburn University 50-47 in Las Vegas.