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

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 2, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team continues its road trip this weekend, opening Great Lakes Valley Conference action against a pair of Hoosier State rivals. The Rangers begin the conference slate on Thursday at the University of Indianapolis before squaring off against Saint Joseph's College on Saturday.
 
Thursday's clash with the Greyhounds is slated to get underway at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) while Saturday's contest is slated to tip off at 1 p.m. in Rensselaer, Indiana. Live stats, video, and audio will be available for both games.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-2) finished its Alaska trip with a 1-2 record at the Mt. McKinley North Star Invitational held in Fairbanks. The Rangers suffered its first setback of the season on Thanksgiving, falling 80-67 to Northwood University. Parkside dropped an 88-77 decision to host University of Alaska-Fairbanks the next day before earning a 73-63 win over Sonoma State University on Saturday to cap off the tournament.
 
Against Northwood, the Rangers fell victim to a 14-4 run to start the second quarter and was unable to overcome the hot shooting of the Timberwolves who shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the floor and 63.6 percent (seven-for-11) from three-point range in the opening half, securing a comfortable 12-point lead at the break. Lauren Boerger and Kristin Conniff both finished with 14 points to guide the Parkside scoring attack.
 
Against Alaska, the host Nanooks never trailed, utilizing a 13-0 run early in the contest to earn some separation in the 11-point setback. Conniff again powered the Rangers with 14 points while Kauri Jensen chipped in 12.
 
UW-Parkside closed out the trip with a win over the Seawolves, seizing the lead for good just minutes before the halftime intermission while holding off a slew of Sonoma State rallies to preserve the 10-point win. Tara Knapstein led the Green and White with 17 points and seven boards off the bench, hitting all 11 of her free throw attempts.
 
On the season, the Rangers average in double figures with Conniff leading the way with a 13.2 points per game average. The senior has been deadly from three-point range, nailing 46.2 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc. Knapstein averages 11.0 ppg and 4.2 rebounds per game with a team-high 11 steals while Stephanie Furr, who missed the Alaska trip, chips in 10.3 points per game while grabbing 5.0 rebounds per game. Boerger boasts 9.7 ppg and nearly 3.0 assists per game while Kauri Jensen paces the team on the glass with 5.7 rpg. Shelby Cheston leads the GLVc in field goal percentage, hitting 74.1 percent of her chances from the floor while sitting eighth in the league in blocks, averaging 1.3 per game.
 
Last season the Rangers led the GLVC in scoring defense, yielding just 58.5 points per game. Through six games this year, the 2015-2016 UW-Parkside squad ranks 16th in the GLVC in scoring defense, allowing 68.5 points per game. Parkside ranks second in the GLVC in free throw percentage, hitting 79.6 percent of its chances from the charity stripe while also slotting No. 2 in the conference in offensive rebounds with 14.33 per game.
 
Dec. 3 vs. University of Indianapolis at Nicoson Hall (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Greyhounds have battled 39 times on the hardwood with UIndy owning a 21-18 advantage in the series. The two squads last met on Jan. 29, 2015 with UW-Parkside needing overtime to emerge with a 75-66 win over the Hounds inside DeSimone Gymnasium for the team's eighth consecutive GLVC victory. UW-Parkside seized control in overtime with the opening eight points including four from Stephanie Furr at the charity stripe.
 
About the Greyhounds: Indianapolis (1-7) has struggled this season, collecting just one victory in its first eight games. The Hounds lone victory came on the day after Thanksgiving, downing host Merrimack College 57-43 in Massachusetts. The UIndy win was sandwiched around a pair of setbacks to nationally-ranked opponents, falling 74-57 to then No. 13 Ashland University on Nov. 24 while stumbling 80-58 to then No. 23 Bentley University on Saturday.
 
Against Merrimack it was a strong fourth quarter performance that lifted the Hounds to the victory, outscoring the host Warriors 20-9 over the final 10 minutes of the game. Three UIndy players ended the contest in double figures, including an 18-point effort from Princess German.
 
German leads the Hounds in scoring and sits second in the GLVC, averaging 20.4 points per game. Nicole Anderson is the only other UIndy player averaging in double figures, netting 12.5 ppg and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. Sarah Costello posts 7.5 ppg while Devin Ferguson distributes a team-high 2.9 assists per game.
 
Dec. 5 vs Saint Joseph's College at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Saint Joseph's have met 47 times with the Rangers enjoying a 26-21 lead in the all-time series. The Rangers have won 22 of the last 23 encounters, including a 59-54 victory last season on Jan. 31 inside DeSimone Gymnasium. In that game, visiting St. Joe's took their first and only lead at 54-53 with 1:52 remaining but was held scoreless the rest of the way as the Rangers claimed their ninth straight GLVC win.
 
About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's (5-2) heads into GLVC play against Lewis University on Thursday riding a three-game win streak. The Pumas tallied a 69-50 loss to Ursuline College on Nov. 21 before rebounding two days later with a 63-52 neutral site win over Malone University in the squad's only game played away from Scharf Fieldhouse this season. SJC continued its winning ways over the Thanksgiving break, hosting a tournament and claiming a 74-61 win over Mercyhurst University and an 83-43 blowout win over Oakland City University on Saturday.
 
Against Mercyhurst, the host Pumas trailed at the halftime break before outscoring the Lakers in both the third and fourth quarters to tally the win. Kalea Parks led the SJC scoring charge, ending the night with 23 points. St. Joe's surged out to a 26-8 lead after one quarter of play against Oakland City and never looked back in the 40-point blowout. St. Joe's had four players in double figures while the squad canned 11 threes on the afternoon.
 
Parks is the third most prolific scorer in the GLVC, averaging 19.6 points per game and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game. Parks additionally has 11 blocks and carries a 2.3 assists per game average into league play. Lauren Davis tallied 12.9 ppg and a team-best 3.1 apg while Courtney Kvachkoff chips in 10.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg.
 
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.
 
Win on the Glass: UW-Parkside is 4-0 when outrebounding teams and 0-2 when getting outrebounded in 2015-2016. The Rangers dominated the glass in the first three games of the season, finishing +20, +19, and +10, before getting outrebounded in losses against Northwood and Alaska.
 
National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks 11th in NCAA Division II (out of 300 teams) in free throw percentage, hitting 79.6 percent of attempts. The Green and White rank 53rd in rebounding margin (+6.2) and 64th in scoring offense (74.0).
 
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 34-28.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be assistants Courtney Boyd and Dean Mlachnik. 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.