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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 25, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team closes out the regular season on Thursday night, honoring its senior class and clashing with second-ranked and Great Lakes Valley Conference rival Lewis University inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
The Rangers and Flyers hit the court at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and live stats, video, and audio will be provided for the regular season finale. Steve Kratochvil will provide the play-by-play while Jim Kramer will add color commentary on the audio feed available online and over the airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (21-5, 14-3 GLVC) returned to the win column last week, hitting the road and thumping a pair of GLVC East Division rivals. The Rangers, winners of 14 of their last 15 games, rebounded from its 69-67 setback to then No. 17 Drury University on Feb. 14 by dismantling both McKendree University and University of Illinois Springfield last week, leading wire-to-wire in both contests.
 
Against McKendree, five Rangers ended the night in double figures, coming away with the 69-57 victory on Feb. 19. Jennifer Blunt paced the Parkside scoring attack with 13 points and eight boards with Kristin Conniff adding 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Two days later, the Rangers scoring the opening 15 points of the contest and opened up a 25-point halftime lead, vanquishing Illinois Springfield 70-45. Conniff led the way for the Green and White, scoring 18 points and sinking four three-pointers.
 
On the season, Gaby Bronson is the Rangers leader in scoring (12.5 points per game), rebounding (5.4 per game) and assists (4.8 per game) while Conniff chips in 10.2 ppg while hitting a team-best 39 treys on the year. Tara Knapstein averages 9.3 ppg and 3.7 rpg off the bench while Stephanie Furr contributes 7.4 ppg. Brittney Fair nets 6.0 ppg as a reserve while leading the team in steals with 37 on the season.
 
Stingy defense continues to be a hallmark of the 2014-2015 Rangers, leading the GLVC and ranking 12th nationally (out of 310 teams) in scoring defense, yielding just 57.1 points per game. UW-Parkside ranks No. 1 in the GLVC three-point field goal defense (27.6 percent), second in rebounding margin (+7.5), third in field goal defense (37.1 percent), and fourth in scoring margin (+11.1).
 
Feb. 26 vs. Lewis University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Flyers have met 60 times with Lewis owning a 39-21 edge in the all-time series. Lewis won the last encounter 76-61 on Dec. 4 inside Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Illinois. The Rangers owned an early 11-4 advantage in the contest but the hosts stormed back with an 18-0 run to seize an 11-point buffer and never looked back.
 
About the Flyers: GLVC East Division Champion Lewis (26-1, 16-1 GLVC) heads to Somers riding a three-game win streak, blowing out UIS and McKendree on the road last week. The Flyers lone blemish of the season came on Feb. 12, falling 75-72 to then No. 17 Drury, snapping a 23-game win streak and a 35-game home winning streak.
 
Lewis quickly regained its stride after the loss, pounding Missouri University S&T 65-49 on Feb. 14 while rolling Illinois Springfield 64-37 on Feb. 19 and downing McKendree 91-71 on Saturday. Against UIS, the Flyers led by just one point at the halftime break before the floodgates opened in the second half while building a 14-point buffer at the break against McKendree in the 20-point win to secure the GLVC East Division crown.
 
Four Flyers average in double figures with Jamie Johnson paving the way, averaging 18.5 points per game along with 3.2 assists per game. Mariyah Brawner-Henley tallies 17.7 ppg and 12.1 rebounds per game while Jess Reinhart chips in 13.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Alexus Grayer is the fourth Ranger in double figures, coming off the bench and contributing 10.1 ppg.
 
Lewis leads the GLVC and ranks second in the nation in scoring offense (83.0 points per game) and fifth nationally and No. 1 in the conference in scoring margin (+19.4) and additionally tops the conference charts in field goal percentage (47.0 percent), rebounding margin (+7.9), blocks (5.22), assists (19.44) and assist to turnover ratio (1.43). The Flyers additionally check in at No. 2 in the GLVC in both free throw percentage (77.4 percent) and field goal defense (37.0 percent).
 
Senior Salute: UW-Parkside will honor seniors Jennifer Blunt, Gaby Bronson, Stephanie Furr, Maddie Johnston, and Sarah Mlachnik in a pregame ceremony tomorrow night for their contributions to the program. This year's senior class earned two trips to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament, including an appearance in the Sweet 16 while compiling a record of 74-39 over the past four seasons. The class of 2015 has additionally won over 76 percent of their games inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
Streaks: The Rangers 12 game win streak this season was the team's longest stretch of wins in program history, eclipsing a 10 game run during the 2008-2009 campaign from Dec. 4 through Jan. 10. UW-Parkside went 43 days between losses during the 12-game streak which began on Jan. 4 with a come-from-behind win over Quincy University.
 
Bench Buckets: UW-Parkside has generated points off the bench all season with the reserves outscoring the starters eight times this season. The Ranger reserves netted 39 of the team's 69 points on Nov. 20 in a 10-point win over Ohio Dominican University while the backups poured on 41 points in a 60-42 win over Tiffin University on Nov. 22. Parkside's bench collected 36 of the team's 61 points on Dec. 4 against Lewis University and 35 points in a 60-41 win over the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Dec. 16. Parkside's non-starters tallied 36 points in a 71-48 rout of the University of Illinois Springfield on Jan. 15 while pouring on 37 in a 70-52 drubbing of the University of Southern Indiana on Jan. 22.
 
The bench laid on 47 points in a 73-53 victory over Missouri University S&T on Feb. 12 before scoring 34 in a 69-67 setback to then No. 17 Drury University two days later.
 
GLVC Tournament: The Rangers have already clinched a first round bye in the 2014 GLVC Tournament and will open up the postseason on Friday, March 6 in the GLVC Quarterfinals at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri. The GLVC Semifinals will commence the following day on March 7 with the Championship Game slated for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.
 
All-Tournament passes, which are good for all seven sessions, will be $38. A single-session ticket will be $18 for adults and seniors, and $11 for students with a valid ID. Children ages 6 and under are free.
 
20-Win Club: UW-Parkside defeated McKendree University on Feb. 19 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 six under the direction of former Head Coach Jenny Knight-Kenesie (2002-2013).
 
26-for-26: Gaby Bronson and Sarah Mlachnik are the only two Rangers to start every game this season. The duo additionally leads the team in minutes played with Bronson averaging 29.0 minutes per game while Mlachnik averages 26.5 minutes per game. A Total of six Rangers have appeared in every game this season, joining Bronson and Mlachnik on that list is Kristin Conniff, Tara Knapstein, Brittney Fair, and Jessica Prince.

GLVC Accolades: Gabby Bronson was named the GLVC Player of the Week on Nov. 17 for her performance at the Highway 76 Classic where the senior earned Co-MVP honors after notching a triple-double and averaging 19.5 points per game, 8.0 assists per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Bronson became the first Ranger to win the award since Jenna Endisch did so on Dec. 20, 2012.
 
Pod-demonium: The GLVC continues its pod system for the 2014-2015, 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 University of Illinois Springfield, McKendree University and Lewis University.
 
Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside is picked to finish fifth in the GLVC East in 2014-2015 according to the league's 16 head coaches.
 
The Rangers accumulated 60 points and one first place nod to secure fifth. Lewis University collected 13 of the 16 first place votes, snagging the top spot in the East with 118 points. The University of Indianapolis and the University of Southern Indiana each grabbed a first place vote, placing second and third in the poll, respectively. Bellarmine University rounds out the upper half of the division, slotting fourth with 74 points. Saint Joseph's College was picked sixth (53 points) followed by the University of Illinois Springfield in seventh (38 points) and McKendree University in eighth (30 points).
 
In the West Division, Drury University scooped up 12 of the 16 first place endorsements, claiming the top spot with 115 points. Quincy University is second with 94 points and one first place vote followed by Maryville University with 93 points and one first place vote. Truman State University grabbed two first place votes and 89 points to secure fourth while the University of Missouri-Saint Louis is fifth with 64 points. William Jewell College is sixth (47 points) followed by Missouri University S&T in seventh (40 points) and Rockhurst University in eighth (26 points).
 
Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent years, winning 73 of their last 85 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 and 7-7 last season.
 
Return to DeSimone: After going 320 days without a home game and opening the season with a 15-game, 7,261-mile road swing, the Rangers played four home contests in a 10-game span from Jan. 8 through Jan. 17. UW-Parkside made the most of those games, steamrolling all four opponents with an average margin of victory at +20.5.
 
This season's opening 15-game swing covered 7,261 miles and toured seven different states along with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The two-month long road odyssey saw the Rangers play games in Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois (again), Puerto Rico, Ohio (again) and Missouri.
 
Island Adventures: On top of playing three games in three days the UW-Parkside women's basketball squad was also able to soak in a few sights in Puerto Rico during their nearly week long stay from Dec. 15-21. The Rangers toured Castillo San Cristobal, the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the Americas while walking the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. The team additionally traveled to rural Fajardo where they kayaked a lagoon featuring rare bioluminescent life forms and soaked in some sun on the beaches of San Juan.
 
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's two-year record at Parkside currently stands at 29-23.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be former Ranger student-athlete Danielle Slivka along with Oliver Wiseman and Dean Mlachnik.