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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 2, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team opens the New Year and Great Lakes Valley Conference action this weekend inside DeSimone Gymnasium, hosting Quincy University on Friday night before facing league newcomer Truman State University on Sunday afternoon.

The Rangers and Hawks tipoff at 5:30 p.m. on Friday while UW-Parkside and the Bulldogs tipoff at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats, video and audio will be available for both games while Sunday's contest will additionally be carried over the airwaves throughout southeastern Wisconsin on WRJN 1400 AM (joined in progress at around 2 p.m. Central Time). Steve Kratochvil will be providing the play-by-play with Jim Kramer providing color commentary.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-4) closed the non-conference slate with a .500 mark after falling 80-67 to Michigan Tech University on Dec. 21 in Houghton.  All four of Parkside's non-conference wins came inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

The Rangers held a nine-point advantage in the opening half but saw its lead cut to just two at the halftime intermission, nursing a 37-35 advantage. The host Huskies surged out of the gate in the second half with a 6-0 run and took the lead for good with 6:35 left in the game on a Kelcey Traynoff three-pointer.

Danielle Slivka posted a career-high 26 points in the losing effort while also securing eight rebounds and three steals. Tara Knapstein added 15 points while Gaby Bronson chipped in 12.

Four Rangers average in double figures with Bronson leading the way averaging 13.4 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds per game. Bronson additionally ranks 12th nationally and second in the GLVC in assist to turnover ratio (2.69). Slivka adds 12.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg while Tara Knapstein averages 11.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg and Maddie Johnston contributes 10.0 ppg.

UW-Parkside ranks 42nd nationally and third in the GLVC in scoring defense, yielding just 60.5 points per game.

Jan. 3 vs. Quincy University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: UW-Parkside and Quincy have met 36 times with the Green and White owning a 20-16 advantage in the series. The two teams last met during the 2013 GLVC Tournament on March 8 in Evansville, Ind., with the Rangers prevailing 57-46 to advance to the semifinals.

About the Hawks: Quincy (8-1, 1-0 GLVC) looks to return to the win column after suffering its first setback of the season on Dec. 21 to close out the non-conference slate. The Hawks began the year by rattling off eight consecutive wins, including a 79-75 victory over Truman State on Dec. 7 to open GLVC play.

Quincy's win streak came to a halt at the Terrace Hotel Classic in Lakeland, Fla., stumbling 70-65 to the University of Tampa.

Seven of the Hawk's nine regular season games this season have been contested inside the friendly confines of the Pepsi Arena, including the first seven.

Hannah Weedman leads the Hawks in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game while Lucy Cramsey contributes 12.9 ppg and 6.3 rebounds per game. Nia Roth averages a shade under 10 points a game, at 9.9 ppg while Carly Bettencourt chips in 9.2 ppg. Felisha Loggins leads QU on the glass, averaging 8.1 rpg. Weedman ranks third nationally and first in the GLVC in field goal percentage, hitting 66.7 percent of her attempts from the floor.

As a team, Quincy ranks seventh nationally and first in the GLVC in field goal percentage (47.9 percent) while ranking 12th in scoring margin (+23.3), 16th in scoring defense (56.5 ppg) and 16th in rebounding margin (+9.6).

Jan. 5 vs. Truman State University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Bulldogs have never met on the hardwood. This is Truman's first season in the GLVC, replacing Kentucky Wesleyan College who departed for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference during the summer. The Bulldogs previously competed in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, finishing with a 12-6 mark in conference play last season.

About the Bulldogs: Truman State (6-3, 0-1 GLVC) heads into Friday's clash with Lewis University have lost its last two games. The Bulldogs saw its three-game win streak snapped on Dec. 7 against Quincy in the team's GLVC debut, stumbling 79-75 before falling 75-66 to former MIAA nemesis Pittsburg State University on Dec. 18.

Nicole Gloor powers the Bulldog offensive attack, averaging 12.1 points per game while Amy Briggs adds 11.4 ppg. Allie Norton averages 10.9 ppg while Bianca Seafarowicz averages 10.8 ppg and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game. 

Truman is one of the nation's best teams in rebounding margin, ranking ninth nationally and second in the GLVC at +11.6 while ranking 15th nationally in scoring offense (82.1 ppg) and 21st in scoring margin (+19.2).

Magic Number 70: The Rangers are 4-0 on the season when holding opponents to under 70 points but are 0-4 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 80 points on Parkside 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.

GLVC Shuffle: This offseason the 16-member GLVC saw a few tweaks to its membership. Charter member Kentucky Wesleyan College exited the league to join the nascent Great Midwest Athletic Conference with Truman State University from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association filling the void. The addition of Truman moved the University of Illinois Springfield from the West Division to the East Division.

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.