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

HOUGHTON, Mich. (Dec. 19, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team heads to the Upper Peninsula on Saturday, closing out its non-conference schedule against Michigan Tech University.

The Rangers and Huskies square off at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday inside SDC Gym in Houghton, Mich. Live stats, video and audio will be available and will additionally be carried over the airwaves throughout southeastern Wisconsin on WRJN 1400 AM (joined in progress at around 1 p.m. Central Time) with Mark Albanese on the call.

Series History: UW-Parkside and Michigan Tech have met 20 times with the Huskies owning a 18-2 edge in the series. The two squads last met on Nov. 24 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with the visiting Huskies earning the 66-53 victory. The Rangers were plagued by poor shooting in the first half, hitting just 26.9 percent from the field and trailing by 13 at the break.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-3) heads north to close out the calender year having won two of its last three. The Rangers have been idle for the past two weeks, having last hit the court on Dec. 7 against Indiana University-Northwest. In the game, the Rangers rallied from 10-point second half deficit to escape with the 57-55 victory inside DeSimone Gymnasium. Parkside netted the one-point victory after scoring the final 10 points of the contest.

Gaby Bronson paced the Rangers with 17 points while Maddie Johnston chipped in 13 points. Tara Knapstein grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while adding 10 points and five steals.

The Rangers feature a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging in double figures. Bronson leads the way with 13.6 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game while Johnston adds 10.9 ppg. Knapstein chips in 10.7 ppg and 5.0 rpg while Danielle Slivka contributes 10.3 ppg and 4.9 rpg.

About the Huskies: Michigan Tech (5-2, 4-0 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) steps out of conference play riding a four-game win streak. Michigan Tech fell 84-80 to the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 23 before ripping off four straight at the expense of GLIAC squads. The Huskies opened league play with a 53-48 win over Malone University while squashing Walsh University 83-68 two days later. Last weekend Michigan Tech hit the road, netting wins over the University of Findlay (69-63) and Hillsdale College (78-75 OT).

Kylie Moxley leads the Tech offense, averaging 14.4 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Danielle Blake tallies 12.4 ppg and a team-best 6.7 rpg while Mackenzie Perttu chips in 11.9 ppg.

Magic Number 70: The Rangers are 4-0 on the season when holding opponents to under 70 points but are 0-3 when yielding 70 or more points. In all four of the Ranger victories, the opposition has been held to 55 points or less, while no team has posted more than 73 points on Parkside this season. Michigan Tech comes in averaging 72.7 points per game and have scored 80 or more points on three occasions this season.

Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside is picked to finish fourth in the GLVC East in 2013-2014 according to the league's 16 head coaches. The Rangers accumulated 78 points and one first place nod to secure fourth. Defending Champion Lewis University was picked to win the division with 113 points and 11 first place votes. University of Indianapolis was picked second followed by the University of Southern Indiana. Bellarmine University was picked to place fifth followed by McKendree University, Saint Joseph's College and the University of Illinois Springfield. Out West, Quincy University was selected to win the division with Maryville University, Missouri University S&T and Truman State University rounding out the top four.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 63 of their last 69 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.