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

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 13, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team packs its bags for the first time this season, traveling north to the Twin Cities for the Radisson Hotel Roseville Classic hosted by Concordia University Saint Paul. The undefeated Rangers will take on a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents at the tournament on Friday and Saturday inside the Gangelhoff Center.

The Rangers face undefeated Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Friday before squaring off against the host Goldern Bears on Saturday. Both games will tip-off at 5 p.m. inside the Gangelhoff Center. Live stats and video will be available for both contests.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (2-0) hits the road after racking up wins over Lake Superior State University and Upper Iowa University.

The Rangers encountered little resistance in the season opener on Saturday against Lake Superior State, using a 13-2 run early in the opening half to pull away. UW-P led 38-17 at the half and maintained at least a 15-point buffer the entire second stanza to earn the 66-48 victory. Maddie Johnston led the way with 16 points while Tara Knapstein and Gaby Bronson added 15 and 12 points, respectively. The Ranger defense forced the Lakers to misfire on their first 16 three-pointers of the afternoon, finishing the game shooting a paltry 11.5 percent (three-for-26) from distance.

On Monday night the Rangers needed a 12-2 run midway through the second half to secure a 65-55 victory over Upper Iowa to improve to 2-0 in head coach Jacob Yorg's first season at the helm. Bronson led the Rangers against the Peacocks, pouring on 20 points while Tara Knapstein added 17.

Bronson and Knapstein are tied for the team lead in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game while Maddie Johnston averages 10.5 per game. On the glass, Nafeshia Holifield leads the squad, grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game while Danielle Slivka and Jennifer Blunt average 6.5 rpg. Knapstein is the Rangers' leading distributor after two games, averaging 4.0 assists per game.

About the Dragons: MSU-Moorhead (1-0) heads to Saint Paul undefeated after opening the season on Saturday with a 81-64 victory over NAIA Mayville State University. Morgan Zabel paced the Dragons with her first career double-double, collecting 23 points and 11 rebounds while dishing out seven assists. Zabel was a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe against the Comets in a game that saw MSUM lead wire-to-wire.

Prior to the season opener, MSU-Moorhead faced the University of Minnesota in an exhibition game, falling 69-54 to the Golden Gophers on Nov. 2.

About the Golden Bears: Host Concordia (2-1) returns home after a weekend in Anaheim, Calif. at the 2013 Disney CCAA Division II Tip-Off classic. The Golden Bears opened the season with a 73-61 victory over California State University-East Bay on Nov. 8 before edging Pittsburg State University 66-62 on Nov. 9. Concordia closed the tournament the following day, suffering a 71-52 setback to fifth-ranked Emporia State University.

Three Golden Bears average double digit scoring production with Anika Whiting paving the way with 14.0 points per game and a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game. Amanda Barton and Carissa Wolyniec each average 10.0 ppg while Ameshia Kearney adds 9.0 ppg.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 61 of their last 66 games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. UW-P compiled an 11-3 record at home during 2012-2013 campaign, 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.

The Yorg File: Head Coach Jacob Yorg became the program's sixth coach over the summer, replacing the program's winningest coach in Jenny Knight-Kenesie. Yorg is no stranger to the GLVC having served as the associate head coach at Maryville University from 2008-2013. Maryville posted a 76-64 record in that span, winning the GLVC West Division crown last season in the Saints' fourth year as a Division II program.

Also joining the program is top assistant Jordan Wilde. Wilde previously served in a similar capacity at NAIA Ashford University in Iowa. Former UW-Parkside standouts Brittany Beyer and Jadee Rooney will both patrol the bench as well. Beyer served as a student assistant last season after concluding her career in 2012 while Rooney joins the Ranger staff after spending the summer dominating the Big V League in Australia as a member of the Ringwood Hawks.