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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 21, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team opens up a three-game homestand tonight, welcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival Lewis University to DeSimone Gymnasium.

The Rangers tip off against the Flyers at 5:30 p.m. Steve Kratochvil will be providing play-by-play for Monday's contest while Jim Kramer will be providing color commentary on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (9-5, 3-3 GLVC) split a pair of conference games last week, falling 66-60 to Bellarmine University on Thursday in Louisville before downing McKendree University 62-54 on Saturday in Lebanon, Ill.

Against Bellarmine, the Rangers trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before mounting a late run. UWP closed to within a possession with 68 seconds left off a Maddie Johnston layup but was unable to hit their final three shots of the night, eventually falling by six to the host Knights.

Tara Knapstein led the Rangers with 14 points off the bench while Jenna Endisch added 10.

On Saturday the Rangers hit 58.3 percent of their shots in the second half, turning a one-point halftime deficit into an eight-point road victory.

A 9-0 run early in the second half tipped the scales in favor of the Rangers who never trailed the rest of the game.

Endisch led the Rangers with 16 points while Gaby Bronson came off the bench and added 14 points.

On the season, Endsich leads the Rangers in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game while Bronson adds 10.4 ppg. Danielle Slivka leads the squad on the glass with 6.0 rebounds per game. Sierra West has a team-high 76 assists on the year while averaging 8.1 ppg with Jaleesa Trussell grabbing 27 steals on the season to compliment her 8.6 ppg average.

Jan. 21 vs. Lewis at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have met 53 times on the hardwood with the Flyers owning a 34-19 edge in the all-time series.

Last Season: The Rangers swept the series last season, prevailing 83-63 in Romeoville on Jan. 16 before completing the sweep on Feb. 23 with an 86-61 win inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

About the Flyers: Lewis (11-3, 4-2 GLVC) enters Monday's showdown having won three of its last four, splitting a pair of conference games last week.

The Flyers rolled past host McKendree 69-55 on Thursday before suffering a 74-70 setback at the hands of Bellarmine on Saturday.

Jess Reinhart leads Lewis in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Sam Rinehart and Labrenthia Murdock each add 11.1 ppg while Alexus Grayer adds 9.1 ppg.

The Flyers lead the GLVC in field goal percentage, draining 45.2 percent of their chances while sitting second in the league in scoring offense (75.1 ppg) and third in scoring margin (+10.9).

Home Cooking: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 52 of their last 56 games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. UWP compiled a 14-1 home record in 2011-12, the only blemish a one-point 68-67 defeat to Kentucky Wesleyan on Dec. 1.

UWP is 4-2 at home in 2012-2013, marking the first time since the 2008-2009 season the Rangers have dropped more than one contest at home. UW-Parkside was 10-2 at home in 2008-09 while finishing 15-1 in 2009-10, 15-0 in 2010-11 and 14-1 in 2011-12.

Lineup Shuffle: Tara Knapstein and Kiah Simon made their first career starts on Saturday as head coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie shook up the lineup for the first time all season and the first mid-season lineup adjustment in 100 games. The Rangers used only one lineup during the entire 2011-2012 season (30 games) and 2010-2011 season (31 games) while utilizing the same lineup for the final 26 games of 2009-2010.