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

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 17, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball squad jets off to the Pacific Northwest this weekend, invading the Evergreen State for the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic hosted by Seattle Pacific University.
 
The Rangers open the tournament on Friday with a 4:30 p.m. (Pacific Time) showdown against Concordia University (Oregon) before facing the host Falcons on Saturday at 7 p.m. (Pacific Time) to cap off the team's non-conference. Live stats and video will be available for both contests.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (5-3, 1-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) returns to the court on Friday after a nearly two week layoff, pumping the breaks on the schedule last week to focus on final exams. Last time out for the Rangers was on Dec. 5, wrapping up its GLVC opening slate with a 67-63 setback to host Saint Joseph's College. The loss came just two days after posting a 68-61 victory over the University of Indianapolis to open league play.
 
Against UIndy, the Rangers never trailed, receiving a career-high 24 points from Kristin Conniff in the seven-point win. UW-Parkside led by as many as 13 points but the homestanding Greyhounds chipped away at the Ranger lead, eventually tying the game at 44 with 1:45 left in the third period. Parkside maintained a slim lead the rest of the quarter and led by just a single point just over three minutes into the fourth period before utilizing an 8-0 run to establish a 57-48 lead with 5:30 remaining. The Green and White led by at least a possession the rest of the way en route to the win.
 
UW-Parkside ended the game with nine threes with five of those coming off the hands of a red-hot Conniff who was five-for-11 from distance and paced all scorers with 24 points. Tara Knapstein added 15 points and seven boards while Stephanie Furr returned to the lineup with 11 points.
 
Against Saint Joe's, the Rangers led by as many as 15 points and owned a double-digit advantage with 8:46 remaining in the game before the host Pumas scored 23 of the next 30 points to secure a 63-58 edge with 1:50 remaining. Saint Joseph's kept UW-Parkside at bay the rest of the way, holding on for the four-point win after making five free throws in the closing minutes.
 
Conniff again led the Rangers, posting 22 points while Furr chipped in 16 with a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.
 
Three Rangers average in double figures on the year with Conniff leading the way with 15.6 points per game. The senior sharpshooter has 21 threes on the season and is shooting at a 44.7 percent clip from beyond the arc. Furr adds 11.6 ppg and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game while Knapstein is the third Ranger in double figures, averaging 11.1 ppg. Kauri Jensen and Jessica Prince have both been a force on the glass, averaging an identical 5.1 rpg. Tiffin University transfer Shelby Cheston has been a menace defensively, ranking eighth in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.25 per game.
 
UW-Parkside has excelled at the free throw line this season, hitting 77.9 percent of its chances at the line, good for third best in the GLVC and 12th best in all of NCAA Division II.
 
Dec. 18 vs. Concordia University Oregon at Brougham Pavilion (Live Stats)(Video)
 
Series History: The Rangers have played Concordia University's in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota in the past, but have never faced Concordia based in Portland, Oregon. UW-Parkside is a combined 9-3 against the other Concordia institutions, including a 7-0 record against the Division III Falcons based in Mequon, Wisconsin.
 
About the Cavaliers: Concordia (2-6, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) heads into Friday's clash having dropped five of its last six regular season contests. The Cavaliers lone victory during the stretch was a 56-44 win over Saint Martin's University on Dec. 3 to open GNAC play. Concordia followed the win with a 55-46 defeat to Seattle Pacific before dropping an exhibition 84-77 to Division I Boise State University on Sunday.
 
NCAA Division II newcomer Concordia held host Saint Martin's to shooting just 20.0 percent (13-for-65) in the Cavalier's first ever GNAC game and received 17 points from Sierra Dean to notch the historic win. Concordia's fortunes were reversed against Seattle Pacific, trailing by 12 at the halftime break in the nine-point defeat.
 
Dean powers the Cavalier offense, averaging 15.0 points per game. Bailey Cartwright adds 9.0 ppg and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game while Keesha Sarmon posts a team-leading 3.8 assists per game along with 6.8 ppg.
 
Dec. 19 vs. Seattle Pacific University at Brougham Pavilion (Live Stats)(Video)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Falcons have never met on the hardwood.
 
About the Falcons: Seattle Pacific (4-3, 2-0 GNAC) heads into the 11th edition of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic a perfect 2-0 at home after opening league play with victories over both Western Oregon University and Concordia. The Falcons snapped a three-game slide on Dec. 3, opening conference action with a 79-58 win over Western Oregon before downing Concordia 55-46 two days later.
 
Against Western Oregon, Seattle Pacific limited the visiting Wolves to just 17 points in the first half, enjoying a 30-point lead at the intermission. SPU's lead swelled to 36 points late in the game as three Falcons ended the contest in double figures.
 
Against Concordia, Courtney Hollander and Jordan McPhee each netted double-doubles in the nine-point win. Hollander finished with 20 points and 10 boards while McPhee added 11 points and 12 rebounds in a game the Falcons again owned a large halftime lead, taking a 36-24 edge into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.
 
Hollander leads SPU in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. McPhee nets 11.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg while Stacey Lukasiewicz adds 8.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg to the cause.
 
Time Zone Travelers: The barnstorming Rangers will be playing their fourth consecutive game in a unique time zone on Friday against Concordia to open the Tip-Off Classic. The streak began in Alaska, downing Sonoma State University 73-63 on Nov. 28 in the Alaskan Time Zone. The Rangers rolled UIndy 68-61 on Dec. 3 in the Eastern Time Zone before falling 67-63 to Saint Joseph's in UW-Parkside's native Central Time Zone. This weekend's games will be conducted in the Pacific Time Zone.
 
National TV Exposure: The Rangers' doubleheader against GLVC rival Drury University on Saturday, Jan. 9 will be broadcast live nationwide on the American Sports Network and online through NCAA.com. To accommodate the national telecast, tipoff is getting pushed back to 5 p.m. Spectators in attendance will receive "White Out" T-shirts provided from Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Services at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare - All Saints, the official sports medicine provider of the UW-Parkside athletic department. Additionally, the first 100 fans will get a RangerBear bobblehead doll.

Youth Day: UW-Parkside is hosting a Youth Day on Saturday, January 2, offering free admission to youth basketball players for the team's GLVC home opener against rival Lewis University. Youth in attendance will have a chance to meet the women's team and get autographs after the conclusion of the game. Teams and individuals interested in attending should contact assistant coach Dave Mentkowski at dmentkow@gmail.com. Free admission while wearing a youth basketball jersey will also be honored the next Saturday on Jan. 9 as the Rangers face Drury University at 5 p.m. in a nationally televised game on the American Sports Network.
 
Road Warriors: Heavy travel during the non-conference slate, a staple of Head Coach Jacob Yorg, continues this season with 11 of the first 12 games being played at neutral sites or on the road. The season-opening barnstorming tour will feature games in four different time zones, including for the second consecutive season, a string of games outside the continental United States. This season the Rangers play three games in Alaska while last season the squad played a trio of games in Puerto Rico. All told, the Rangers will cover over 11,895 miles between the home opener and the GLVC home opener on Jan. 2.

20-Win Club: UW-Parkside defeated McKendree University on Feb. 19, 2015 to secure the program's fifth 20-win campaign over the past six seasons. The Rangers have six total 20 win seasons in program history with all of them coming since 2004, including five under the direction of former Head Coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie (2002-2013).

Pod-demonium: The GLVC continues its pod system for the 2015-2016 season, retaining the setup of two divisions with two pods of four. Pod mates will play each other in a home and home series and play all other opponents once. UW-Parkside's pod includes the University of Indianapolis, Saint Joseph's College, and travel partner Lewis University. Pod mates rotate every two years with the Rangers previously paired with Lewis, University of Illinois Springfield and McKendree University from 2013-2015.
 
Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside is picked to finish second in the GLVC East in 2015-2016 according to the league's 16 head coaches.
 
The Rangers accumulated 97 points and two first place nods to secure the No. 2 position in the East Division. Lewis University collected the remaining 14 first place votes, snagging the top spot in the East with 119 points. The University of Southern Indiana (25-7, 15-3 GLVC) is third with 92 points with Bellarmine University (14-13, 9-9 GLVC) rounding out the upper half of the division, slotting fourth with 75 points.
 
The University of Indianapolis (12-16, 8-10 GLVC) is fifth with 73 points, followed by Saint Joseph's College (11-18, 7-11 GLVC) in sixth (54 points), University of Illinois Springfield (6-20, 2-16 GLVC) in seventh (32 points), and McKendree University (2-24, 1-17 GLVC) in eighth (26 points).
 
In the West Division, defending GLVC Tournament Champion Drury University (26-4, 17-1 GLVC) sits atop the poll, raking in 120 points and 15 of the 16 first place votes. Quincy University (16-12, 10-8 GLVC) is second with 105 points and the lone remaining No. 1 vote followed by Truman State University (16-11, 10-8 GLVC) in third (85 points) and University of Missouri-Saint Louis (14-14, 9-9 GLVC) in fourth (72 points).
 
Maryville University (15-14, 8-10 GLVC) is slotted to place fifth with 67 points followed by William Jewell College (15-12, 10-8 GLVC) in sixth (50 points), Rockhurst University (11-15, 5-13 GLVC) in seventh (44 points), and Missouri University S&T (6-20, 2-16 GLVC) in eighth (25 points).
 
Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 74 of their last 87 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, 11-3 in 2012-13, 7-7 in 2013-14, and finished last season with a 7-2 mark inside DeSimone Gym.
 
The Yorg File: Head Coach Jacob Yorg became the program's sixth coach prior to the 2013-2014 season, 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 a GLVC Tournament Championship and a GLVC West Division crown.
 
Yorg guided the Rangers to the biggest single season turnaround in program history in 2014-2015, guiding the team back to the NCAA Division II Tournament while netting a program-record 12 game win streak during GLVC play. Yorg's record at Parkside currently stands at 35-29.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be assistants Courtney Boyd, Dean Mlachnik, and Dave Mentkowski. This will be Boyd's first season with the Green and White, previously serving as the head coach at AIB College of Business in Iowa while Mlachnik returns for his second season with UW-Parkside. Mentkowski is also in his first tour of duty with the Parkside women's program.