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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 23, 2013)-- The top two teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division roll into DeSimone Gymnasium this week as the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball squad faces second-place and 23rd-ranked University of Southern Indiana on Thursday before taking on division leader Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday.

The Rangers tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday against USI while hitting the court at 1 p.m. on Saturday against the Panthers. Live stats, video and audio will be available for both games. Steve Kratochvil will be providing play-by-play for both contests 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 (9-6, 3-4 GLVC) looks to rebound after Monday's tough 63-58 defeat at the hands of Lewis University.

Monday's clash featured four lead changes and six ties. UW-Parkside trailed by just a point with 66 seconds left but the Flyers converted four straight free throws and clamped down defensively, forcing a Ranger turnover and a missed jumper to close the contest.

Jenna Endisch led the UWP scoring charge with 12 points for her 12th double-double of the season. Danielle Slivka added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds while Sierra West dished out six assists along with nine points.

Endisch is the team's leading scorer on the season, averaging 14.0 points per game. Gaby Bronson contributes 10.3 ppg while Slivka leads the squad in rebounding, grabbing 6.1 rebounds per contest while also adding 8.1 ppg on the offensive end.

Jan. 24 vs. University of Southern Indiana at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Screaming Eagles have met 28 times with USI winning 20 of those encounters.

Last Season: UW-Parkside swept the season series in 2011-2012, winning 76-50 on Dec. 3 in Somers before securing the sweep on Feb. 9 with a 56-40 victory.

About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (13-2, 5-2 GLVC) ripped off 10 straight victories to begin the season but has won just twice in its last four outings.

USI suffered its first setback of the season on Jan. 12, falling on the road to host Quincy University 65-62. The Screaming Eagles rebounded with a 79-48 win over Saint Joseph's College and a 70-69 nail-biter victory against University of Indianapolis before faltering 68-59 to Kentucky Wesleyan on Monday in Owensboro.

Anna Hackert leads the Screaming Eagles, averaging 14.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Stephanie Carpenter adds 11.9 ppg with Ariel Barnes adding 8.9 points a contest. USI has utilized the same starting lineup all season, joining Hackert, Carpenter and Barnes in the starting rotation is Mary O”Keefe (8.4 ppg) and Taylor Stevenson (7.1 ppg).

Southern Indiana is fourth nationally in assists per game (18.6) and assist to turnover ratio (1.24) while ranking eighth in scoring margin (+20.1) and field goal percentage (45.1).

Jan. 26 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan College at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Panthers have met 31 times on the hardwood since beginning the series in 1995-96 with the Rangers owning an 18-13 advantage.

Last Season: UW-Parkside and Kentucky Wesleyan met three times in 2011-12 with the Panthers winning two of the three meetings. The two squads opened GLVC play on Dec. 1 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with KWC handing the Rangers their lone home loss of the season, falling 68-67. UWP returned the favor on Feb. 11, earning a 83-69 victory on the Panthers' home court while KWC won the rubber match 73-71 on March 1 at the GLVC Tournament in Springfield, Ill.

About the Panthers: Kentucky Wesleyan (10-4, 6-1 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash with Lewis on a four-game winning streak and sit in first place in the GLVC East Division standings.

KWC stumbled 65-58 to University of Illinois Springfield on Jan. 12 before rolling its next four games, including a 67-61 win over nationally-ranked UIndy on Jan. 17 and a 68-59 win over USI on Monday.

Lauren Goffinet is the Panthers' leading scorer, coming into the week averaging 11.4 ppg. Bianca Barton adds 9.8 ppg while Karly Rhoads and T'Essence Phelps contribute 9.2 and 9.1 ppg, respectively. Phelps leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 6.6 per contest.

Kentucky Wesleyan is sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.6 percent)while ranking 31st in scoring offense (72.5 ppg) and 34th in turnover per game (15.4).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 50 nationally in four categories. The Rangers are 14th nationally (out of 287 Division II programs) in free throw percentage, hitting 76.1 percent of their chances and rank 17th in field goal percentage (44.1 percent). UWP is 32nd in steals per game (12.2) and 45th in turnover margin (+3.86).

Individually, Sierra West is 13th nationally in assists, averaging 5.4 helpers a game and 70th in assist to turnover ratio (1.52) while Endisch is 11th in three-point field goals per game (2.93) and 76th in three-point field goal percentage (36.3 percent).

Home Cooking: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 52 of their last 57 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 4-3 at home in 2012-2013, marking the first time since the 2007-2008 season the Rangers have dropped more than two contests at home. UW-Parkside was 12-4 at home in 2007-08, 10-2 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.

GLVC in the Top 25: Two conference teams appear in the WBCA Division II Top 25 this week while two more appear in the others receiving votes section. The University of Indianapolis is sitting at No. 15 this week while Southern Indiana climbs into the rankings at No. 23. UW-Parkside and Lewis both appear in the others receiving votes section. The Rangers garnered 12 points in the poll while Lewis collected three points.