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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 27, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball squad is out for revenge on Thursday, looking to atone for an early season defeat as the Rangers close out the regular season on the road at Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division nemesis Lewis University.

The Rangers tip off at 8 p.m. on Thursday inside Neil Carey Arena with live stats, video and audio available. Jim Kramer will be providing play-by-play for the game on the audio feed available online at gatewaysportsweb.

There is a lot on the line for the Rangers on Thursday. A victory coupled with a Kentucky Wesleyan College loss at the University of Southern Indiana would give UWP a share of its third straight division crown while a defeat could knock the Rangers out of the top four and force the team to play in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament on Sunday, March 3.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (18-7, 12-5 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash having won five straight and nine of its last 10 games. The recent surge has the Rangers one game out of first place in the East Division with one game to play. UWP's last setback was on Feb. 7 in Owensboro, falling 69-57 to East Division co-leader Kentucky Wesleyan.

Since then the Rangers have been on the warpath, torching host Southern Indiana 58-40 on Feb. 9, dominating McKendree University 81-55 on Feb. 14, blowing out Bellarmine University 81-55 on Feb. 16 while crushing Saint Joseph's College 72-40 on Senior Night. The Rangers closest contest during the run was a 10-point win against University of Indianapolis on Saturday, downing the host Greyhounds 71-61.

A key cog in the Rangers' recent success has been the play of senior Jenna Endisch. The guard has led the team in scoring the past four games, averaging 21.3 points per game during that stretch, including a career-high 31 points against UIndy, a game that saw Endisch drain a school record nine three-pointers.

On the season, Endisch leads the team in scoring with 15.1 ppg. Gaby Bronson and Sierra West both add 8.8 ppg with West dishing out a team-best 5.8 assists per game. Danielle Slivka averages a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game while chipping in 8.2 ppg on the offensive end.

Tournament Scenarios: The Rangers' prospects for a first round bye in the Deaconess GLVC Tournament hinge on winning against the Flyers or hoping for Thursday night defeats by West Division heavyweights Missouri S&T University (15-10, 11-6 GLVC) and Quincy University (13-12, 11-6 GLVC). S&T closes the season at home against Drury University (13-12, 7-10 GLVC) while the Hawks face University of Illinois Springfield (6-19, 3-14 GLVC) on the road.

Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have clashed 54 times on the hardwood with the Flyers owning a 35-19 edge in the all-time series.

Last Meeting: The Flyers had the last laugh on Jan. 21 inside DeSimone Gymnasium, sinking four free throws down the stretch to emerge with a 63-58 win in a game featuring four lead changes and six ties. Since the game, UWP has won nine of its last 10, including five in a row.

About the Flyers: Lewis (20-5, 13-4 GLVC) has won four straight and is on the verge of claiming the GLVC East Division title. The Flyers fell 68-55 to Southern Indiana and 74-61 to Kentucky Wesleyan on the road in early February but have been perfect since, rolling Bellarmine (77-65), McKendree (62-50), UIndy (76-64) and St. Joe's (68-64).
The Flyers have been tough to defeat at home, compiling a 10-1 mark inside Neil Carey Arena. Lewis' lone defeat came in the home opener on Nov. 24, suffering an 84-77 setback to the University of Central Missouri.

Three Flyers average in double figures with Jess Reinhart paving the way, averaging 14.8 ppg along with a team-best 7.2 rpg. Labrenthia Murdock adds 11.5 ppg and Sam Rinehart claims 11.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Lewis has utilized the same starting five all season with Reinhart, Murdock and Rinehart joining Nikki Nellen and Kristen Itschner on the floor to begin the last 25 games for the co-division leading Flyers.

The Flyers are one of the stingiest defenses against three-point shooters, ranking second in the nation in three-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to hit just 23.8 percent of attempts. The Flyers additionally rank 26th nationally in field goal percentage (43.3 percent), 28th in scoring offense (72.3 ppg) and 34th in assists per game (15.6).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 25 nationally in two statistical categories and sits among the top 50 in six categories. The Rangers rank sixth in the nation (out of 287 teams) in field goal percentage, hitting 45.0 percent from the floor while ranking 21st in three-point field goal percentage (35.7). UWP ranks 30th in both scoring margin (+11.2) and free throw percentage (74.5 percent), 31st in scoring defense (56.0 ppg) and 34th in rebounding margin (+5.6).

Individually, Jenna Endisch ranks third nationally in three-point field goals per game, averaging 3.33 per contest. Glenville State University's Ginny Mills leads the nation, draining 3.86 per game. Sierra West is sixth nationally in assists with 5.8 per game.

Perimeter Prowess: Jenna Endisch shattered a pair of records last week, establishing a new single season record for three-pointers with 80 while setting a new single game mark with nine threes on Saturday against UIndy. Jamie Nebel previously held the single-game record with eight threes on Feb. 9, 2002 against Northern Kentucky University while Kayla Ming previously claimed the single season mark with 77 three-pointers in 2007-08. Endisch sits seventh on the all-time list for three-point field goals made with 133, sitting three shy of Theresa Ingalls (1988-93) for sixth place.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 58 of their last 63 games (.920 winning percentage) 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 10-3 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.

Tournament Time: The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, or through the Ford Center box office at (812) 422-1515.

All-Tournament passes are $35, while Session Flex Passes are $25, allowing you access to any two of the first six sessions, excluding Sunday's finals.  Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students with a valid ID, while children aged six and under are admitted free of charge.

The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournaments will feature 16 seeded teams, including eight men's and eight women's squads that will have earned an invitation following first-round matchups on their respective campuses.  On Thursday, March 7, the men's quarterfinals will take place with four games at noon, 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. CT.  Friday's action will feature the four women's quarterfinal contests at the same times.  Both the men's and the women's semifinals will commence on Saturday, March 9, as the men take to the court at noon and 2:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.  The men's GLVC Champion will be crowned on Sunday, March 10, at noon, followed by the women's final at 2:30 p.m.