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

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 22, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team, fresh off a one-point upset of 25th-ranked Lewis University, looks to continue its winning ways, welcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals Bellarmine University and University of Southern Indiana to DeSimone Gymnasium this week.

The Rangers host Bellarmine on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before hitting the floor at 1 p.m. on Saturday against the Screaming Eagles. Live stats, video and audio will be provided for both games. Steve Kratochvil will be on the call with play-by-play while Jim Kramer will provide color commentary for the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: After dropping five straight to begin GLVC play, UW-Parkside (6-9, 2-5 GLVC) has since won two in a row, including Monday night's 51-50 victory over No. 25 Lewis University.

Against the Flyers, UW-Parkside seized the lead for good with 39 seconds left off a Danielle Slivka jumper. The senior led all scorers with 19 points in a see-saw battle that had 14 lead changes and six ties. The homestanding Rangers led by as many as eight points in the second half in the one-point win.

Prior to Lewis, the Rangers collected a 64-54 win over host McKendree University on Jan. 15.

Gaby Bronson leads the team in several statistical categories, including scoring (13.5 points per game), rebounding (6.0 rebounds per game), assists (4.1 per game), blocks (11) and field goal percentage (47.8 percent). Slivka offers 12.1 ppg and 4.9 rpg with a team-best 26 steals while Tara Knapstein contributes 11.5 ppg and 5.1 rpg. Maddie Johnston adds 8.9 ppg while Sarah Mlachnik averages 6.3 ppg.

As a team, UW-Parkside ranks third in the league in scoring defense, yielding just 62.0 points per game.

Jan. 23 vs. Bellarmine University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Knights have met 21 times with Bellarmine owning a 19-12 edge in the all-time series.

UW-Parkside split the season series in 2012-2013 with each squad prevailing on its home court. The Knights won 66-60 on Jan. 17 in Louisville, Ky., while the host Rangers emerged with a 70-45 blowout win on Feb. 16 inside DeSimone Gymnasium.

About the Knights: Bellarmine (8-7, 4-3 GLVC) heads to Wisconsin having won three of its last four games. The Knights lone setback during that run was a 86-72 defeat at the hands of then No. 14 University of Indianapolis on Jan. 16. Since then the Knights have rolled to wins over Saint Joseph's College (91-83) and Southern Indiana (72-62), capping off a five-game homestand.

The Knights have been a tough team to play inside Knights Hall in Louisville but are just 1-4 in games away from home.

Sarah Galvin leads the Knights in scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game while also securing 5.0 rebounds per game. Jessica Hardin chips in 9.4 ppg while Morgan Clemons averages 8.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Mariah Gador is the Knights' leading rebounder, entering Thursday averaging 5.1 rpg.

Jan. 25 vs. Southern Indiana at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Screaming Eagles have met 30 times on the hardwood with Southern Indiana enjoying a 20-10 lead in the all-time series.

UW-Parkside has won four straight against USI, sweeping the season series in each of the past two years. The Rangers knocked off then No. 23 USI 69-53 last season on Jan. 24 inside DeSimone Gymnasium before earning the 58-40 win in Evansville on Feb. 9.

About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (11-4, 5-2 GLVC) won nine of its first 11 games of the season but has since just won two of its last four. The Eagles had a three-game win streak snapped on Jan. 11 against Drury University, stumbling 91-89 before rebounding with wins over Saint Joseph's College (69-56) and University of Indianapolis (73-44). USI most recent game was a 72-62 setback on Monday night in Louisville against Bellarmine.

Anna Hackert fuels the Screaming Eagles, leading the team in scoring (20.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.3 rebounds per game). Stephanie Carpenter adds 14.7 ppg while Nicole Hazemi contributes 8.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg.

Trivia Night: Put your knowledge of obscure facts to the test on Saturday, Feb. 8 as the UW-Parkside women's basketball team hosts Trivia Night at the Kenosha Country Club. Cost is $25 per person or $200 per team (max 8 players/team). UW-Parkside student pricing is $15 and $120 per squad. For more information contact assistant coach Jordan Wilde at wilde@uwp.edu.

Pod-demonium: The GLVC has broken the two divisions into pods of four for the 2013-2014 season. Pod mates will play each other in a home and home series and play all other opponents once. UW-Parkside's pod includes University of Illinois Springfield, McKendree University and Lewis University.

I Can't Drive 55: The Rangers are 6-0 on the season when holding opponents to under 55 points but are 0-9 when yielding 56 or more points. The stout Ranger defense has allowed just two teams to score more than 74 points, yielding 80 points in the non-conference finale against Michigan Tech University on Dec. 21 and allowing 78 against Maryville University on Jan. 11.

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 64 of their last 72 games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. 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, 14-1 in 2011-12 and 11-3 in 2012-13.

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.