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

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 8, 2013)-- It's a new era for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team with Jacob Yorg making his head coaching debut this weekend as the Rangers host Lake Superior State University on Saturday and Upper Iowa University on Monday.

The Rangers and Lakers tipoff at 1 p.m. inside DeSimone Gymnasium on Saturday while UW-Parkside and Upper Iowa hit the floor at 6 p.m. on Monday. Live stats, video and audio will be available for both games with Steve Kratochvil providing the play-by-play on Saturday and Eric Zizich assuming the duties for the Monday night contest.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside looks to reload after finishing last season with a 21-10 overall record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament for the third consecutive season.

UW-Parkside lost its two leading scorers from a year ago in Jenna Endisch (13.6 points per game) and Sierra West (9.1 ppg, 5.7 assists per game), part of a stellar senior class that posted a four-year mark of 92-31 with four NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 and two Great Lakes Valley Conference division crowns.

Leading the returning players is the squad's lone senior Danielle Slivka. The 2013 Second Team All-GLVC selection averaged 8.5 points per game and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game last season. Slivka started all 31 games last season, scoring in double figures on 11 occasions while posting four double-doubles.

Also returning is Gaby Bronson and Tara Knapstein. Bronson and Knapstein appeared are the only other returners to have appeared in every game last season. Bronson started 13 games in 2012-2013, acering 8.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg while leading the squad in blocks (20) and at the charity stripe, shooting 84.4% (81-for-96) on the season. Knapstein put together a solid freshman campaign last season, starting 18 games and averaging 7.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg. The sophomore guard has a strong finish to the 2012-2013 season with two of her eight double figure scoring outputs coming during the NCAA Tournament run.

Other returners for the Rangers include Brittney Fair, Kristin Conniff, Stephanie Furr, Maddie Johnston, Jennifer Blunt and Rani Singh. Fair had a promising debut last year, averaging 8.0 ppg before having her season cut short in the fourth game of the season.

UW-Parkside has four freshmen on the roster with three hailing from the Badger State. Amber Bullock, Nafeshia Holifield, Alleah Voigt all elected to stay in-state to suit up for the Rangers while Bailey North hails from suburban Chicago.

About the Lakers: Lake Superior State heads to DeSimone Gymnasium looking to rebound after finishing 2012-2013 with a 5-21 record and a 4-18 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Lakers started the year with a 5-9 record before dropping their final 12 games of the season.

Absent from the team is last year's leading scorer Maria Blazejewski who averaged 17.8 ppg. Kandace Crittendon is the top returning scorer, averaging 9.5 ppg in 2012-2013.

This is the second season for head coach Shannon Eggers. Eggers has familiarity with the GLVC serving as a graduate assistant for Lewis University after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

UW-Parkside and Lake Superior State have met eight times on the hardwood with the Rangers owning a 5-3 advantage in the series. The two squads last met on Nov. 16, 2008 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with the host Lakers prevailing 77-56.

About the Peacocks: Upper Iowa opens its regular season on Monday in Somers after participating in a pair of exhibition contests. The Peacocks hosted Ashford University on Oct. 27, dismantling the Saints 69-55 before falling 64-58 to Division I University of Northern Iowa on Nov. 2. The Peacocks finish last season with a 7-23 overall record and a 4-18 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, dropping their final 10 games of the season.

Upper Iowa struggled on the road last season owning a 2-14 record in road and neutral site showdowns.

UIU returns its top two scorers from a year ago in Whitney Kieffer and Carly Pagel. Kieffer averaged 18.7 points per game for the Peacocks while also leading the team on the glass with 7.4 rebounds per game. Pagel adds 11.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg while chips in 5.0 ppg while leading the squad in blocks last season with 20.

The Rangers and Peacocks have met on four occasions with UW-Parkside winning all four encounters. The two squads last met on Nov. 13, 2012 with the Rangers never trailing in a 60-53 victory in Fayette, Iowa.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 59 of their last 64 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.

Exhibition Update: The Rangers faced Division I Loyola University Chicago in an exhibition on Nov. 3, falling 67-48 to the Ramblers. Gaby Bronson led the way for the Rangers, pouring on 19 points along with eight rebounds with Maddie Johnston adding 15 points. Loyola led 41-26 at the half but held just a 26-23 edge in scoring the second 20 minutes of play.

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.