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

Box Score

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 6, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team led by as many as 16 points on Thursday night inside DeSimone Gymnasium only to get foiled in the waning moments of the game, faltering 66-63 to William Jewell College in a Great Lakes Valley Conference showdown. Gaby Bronson paced the Rangers with 19 points in a game that saw the home squad leading for the first 37 minutes of the 40-minute contest.

The Rangers (6-14, 2-10 GLVC) seized the opening points of the game and owned a 24-15 advantage halfway through the first half after Sarah Mlachnik converted a layup. UW-Parkside's advantage swelled to double digits with 4:20 left in the half after Kristin Conniff buried a pair of free throws. The Ranger buffer extended to 16 points 49 seconds before halftime thanks to a pair of Danielle Slivka free throws, capping off a 14-2 run for the Green and White. The Cardinals (9-11, 4-8 GLVC) hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left as the homestanding Rangers enjoyed a 40-26 advantage at intermission.

William Jewell collected 15 of the first 20 points in the second half, negating the Ranger lead an knotting the score at 45 with 12:27 remaining. Parkside responded and inflated its edge back up to seven points with 8:16 left but a layup and a three-pointer closed Jewell to within a possession with 6:53 left. The Rangers lead yo-yoed back to seven points after Bronson drained a three with 5:05 left but the Cardinals surged with a 10-0 spurt to claim the lead for the first time. Five straight points from Cassy Nicolay tied the game at 61 with 3:24 left before Maddie Nelson sunk a trey with 2:11 left to give the Cardinals the 64-61 edge.

Jennifer Blunt pulled Parkside within a point at 64-63 with 1:46 left but the Rangers were unable to find the back of the net the rest of the way as Jewell hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left while a Ranger desperation three was off the mark at the buzzer, sending UW-Parkside its fifth straight defeat.

Bronson finished seven-for-12 from the floor to pace the Rangers with 19 points and four assists. The junior additionally grabbed nine rebounds while Maddie Johnston collected 10 points. Tara Knapstein finished with nine while securing a team-best 10 rebounds.

Nicolay tallied a double-double to lead Jewell, scoring a game-high 24 points along with 12 rebounds while Chelsea Meeks poured on 21.

UW-Parkside shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) for the game and outrebounded the visitors by a 37-30 margin. The Rangers held Jewell to shooting just 31.8 percent (seven-for-22) from the floor in the first half but the Cardinals heated up in the second 20 minutes of play, hitting 51.6 percent (16-for-31) of shots from the floor.

The Rangers return to the court on Saturday, hosting Rockhurst University at 1 p.m.