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

GLVC Tournament Bracket

GLVC Tournament Website

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Mar. 9, 2013)-- For the second time in 10 days the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball squad will take the floor against Lewis University as the fifth-seeded Rangers take on the GLVC East Division Champion and top-seeded Flyers in the semifinals of the 2013 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday.

The Rangers (20-8) face the Flyers (22-5) for the third time this season and hope the third time is indeed the charm after stumbling in the two regular season meetings. Today's semifinal showdown is scheduled to tipoff at 8:30 p.m. inside the Ford Center. Live stats, video and audio will be available for the game. Steve Kratochvil, Jim Kramer and Eric Zizich will be on the call on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin. (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside provided the lone upset so far in the 2013 GLVC Tournament as the fifth-seeded Rangers unseated fourth-seeded Quincy University 57-46 on Friday night behind a career-high 23 points from Gaby Bronson.

The Rangers led wire-to-wire and beat Quincy in their own game, with UWP owning a 34-26 rebounding edge over one of the nation's best rebounding squads and used suffocated defense to grind out a tournament victory for the second straight game.

The Ranger bench contributed 34 points to the cause, including a nine-point performance from Jaleesa Trussell who also added four steals.

UW-Parkside has caught fire at the right time having won 11 of its last 13 games and seven of its last eight. The Rangers lone setback in the last eight games was a 64-60 defeat on the road to Lewis on Feb. 28 to close the regular season.

UWP leads the GLVC in scoring defense, yielding just 55.3 ppg while also leading the conference in scoring margin (+11.2), three-point field goal percentage (35.8 percent) and rebounding defense (29.8).

Jenna Endisch leads the Rangers in scoring, coming into Saturday's contest averaging 14.2 points per game. The senior guard is dangerous from the perimeter, having hit a school record 86 three-pointers on the season while shooting 36.9 percent from distance. Sierra West is second in scoring with 9.1 ppg while dishing out a team best 164 assists on the year. Gaby Bronson collects 8.9 ppg while Danielle Slivka contributes 8.8 ppg and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.

Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have clashed 55 times on the hardwood with the Flyers owning a 36-19 edge in the all-time series.

Round 1: 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.

Round 2: Lewis swept the regular season series and claimed the division crown on Feb. 28 with a 64-60 victory. UW-Parkside was unable to find a rhythm offensively against the stingy Flyer defense.

About the Flyers: Lewis, coached by 2013 GLVC Coach of the Year Lisa Carlsen, rolls into the semifinals having won six in a row. The Flyers haven't tasted defeat since Feb. 9, falling 74-61 on the road against Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Since then Lewis has been red-hot, earning a spot in the GLVC semifinals after disposing eighth-seeded Missouri S&T University 50-42 on Friday evening.

Jess Reinhart paces the Flyers in scoring and rebounding averaging 14.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Labrenthia Murdock chips in 11.3 ppg while Sam Rinehart adds 11.1 ppg.

Lewis leads the conference in scoring, averaging 71.2 ppg while also leading the GLVC in three-point field goal defense (23.4 percent) and rebounding (43.1).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 25 in two statistical categories and sits in the top 50 in five categories. UWP is eighth in the nation (out of 287 teams) in field goal percentage, hitting 44.8 percent from the floor while sitting 19th in three-point field goal percentage (35.8 percent). The Rangers are 28th in scoring defense (55.7 ppg), 31st in scoring margin (+11.2) and 38th in rebounding margin (+5.1).

Individually, Sierra West is fourth in the nation in assists per game, tallying 5.9 per game and 40th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76) while Jenna Endisch is fourth in three-point field goals per game (3.27) and 48th in three-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent). Gaby Bronson is 41st in free throw percentage, hitting 84.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Postseason Awards: Danielle Slivka was named Second Team All-GLVC on Tuesday while joining Jaleesa Trussell and Sierra West on the GLVC All-Defensive Team. It was Slivka's first All-GLVC honor while Trussell earns a spot on the All-Defensive squad for the second consecutive year.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 59 of their last 64 games 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 11-3 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.