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

Box Score

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 26, 2013)-- Behind a career-high 18 points from Kiah Simon, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team knocked off Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division leader Kentucky Wesleyan College, 67-57, on Saturday afternoon inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

The Rangers (11-6, 5-4 GLVC) and Panthers (10-6, 6-3 GLVC) were deadlocked at the halftime intermission before UW-Parkside pulled away in the second half, closing the contest shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from the floor while limiting KWC to shooting just 33.3 percent (nine-for-27).

Kentucky Wesleyan staked an early 4-2 lead before the Rangers mounted a 14-2 run to secure a double digit advantage with 11:47 left in the opening half. The Panthers crawled back, scoring nine consecutive points to build their largest lead of the game at 23-20 with 4:51 left. The team's traded jabs the final three minutes of the half with four ties in the span as the teams entered halftime deadlocked at 31-31.

Tara Knapstein scored the opening four points in the second half as the Rangers seized the lead and never trailed the rest of the way. UWP bumped its buffer back up into double digits with a 9-0 run turning a two-point game into an 11-point contest with 13:37 remaining.

KWC fought back with a T'Essence Phelps three-pointer with 54 seconds left, pulling the Panthers to within five points. The Rangers converted seven of their eight free throw attempts in the final minute, including six from Jenna Endisch to secure the upset.

Simon, making just her fourth career start, paced the Rangers hitting eight of her 12 attempts from the floor for a career-high 18 points. The senior eclipsed her previous career-high by halftime, scoring 10 points in the opening 20 minutes of action. Endisch added 17 points, draining three three-pointers while finishing perfect from the charity stripe while Tara Knapstein was the third Ranger in double figures, adding 12 points with seven rebounds and four steals. Danielle Slivka grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while Sierra West distributed five assists.

Phelps led Kentucky Wesleyan with 18 points while Bianca Barton added 13 points off the bench.

The Rangers outrebounded the Panthers by a 35-27 margin and finished the game hitting 51 percent (26-for-51) from the floor while the visitors shot just 40 percent (22-for-55).

UW-Parkside returns to the court on Thursday, making the trek to Rensselaer, Ind. to face Saint Joseph's College. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.