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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 4, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team is back on the road this week, traveling to the Kansas City area to face a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division squads in Rockhurst University and William Jewell College.
 
The Rangers and Hawks hit the court at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday with UW-Parkside and William Jewell tipping off at 12 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video, and audio will be provided for both contests with Mark Albanese on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (16-4, 9-2 GLVC) remained unbeaten at home this season with a pair of wins last week against GLVC East Division rivals. The Rangers needed overtime before disposing the University of Indianapolis 75-66 on Jan. 29 while edging Saint Joseph's College 59-54 on Saturday to extend the teams win streak to nine games.
 
Against UIndy, the Rangers tallied the first eight points of overtime and made 13 of their 14 free throw attempts in the five minute added session to hold on for the win. The Rangers owned a 27-20 lead at the halftime intermission and led by 10 with just under five minutes to go before a 12-2 Greyhound scoring run tied the game.
 
Stephanie Furr paced the Rangers, scoring 18 points with six rebounds while Kristin Conniff added 17 points.
 
Two days later against Saint Joseph's, the Rangers scored the final six points of the game to secure the five-point win and improve to 6-0 inside DeSimone Gymnasium this season.
 
UW-Parkside led by as many as 12 points but the pesky Pumas chipped away and took their first lead of the day at 54-53 with 1:52 remaining. Jennifer Blunt tied the game 14 seconds later on a free throw and the Rangers generated two SJC turnovers over the final two minutes to cement the win.
 
Conniff and Jessica Prince led the Ranger scoring charge, each adding 11 points while Furr and Jennifer Blunt both collected 10 points.
 
On the season, Gaby Bronson paces UW-Parkside with 12.7 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and a GLVC-leading 5.0 assists per game. Conniff has 10.1 ppg on the season while Tara Knapstein adds 8.4 ppg and 3.4 rpg.
 
The Rangers rank 22nd nationally and lead the GLVC in scoring defense, yielding just 57.6 points per game and sit fourth in the conference in scoring margin at +10.1. Parkside's stingy defense has limited opponents to shooting just 26.9 percent from three-point range, leading the GLVC, while ranking third in the GLVC and 24th nationwide in rebounding margin at +7.0.
 
Feb. 5 vs. Rockhurst University at Mason-Halpin Field House (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers have dominated the all-time series against Rockhurst, winning all eight meetings. Last season, Parkside hit a season-high 11 three-pointers against the Hawks, prevailing 70-66 inside DeSimone Gymnasium on Feb. 8 in a game featuring nine lead changes and nine ties.
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (8-11, 2-9 GLVC) heads into Thursday looking to snap a four game slide while also dropping six of its last seven games. The Hawks' lone win during the stretch was a 70-55 victory over Missouri University S&T on Jan. 17.
 
Last week the Hawks fell 60-47 to the University of Missouri-Saint Louis on Jan. 29 as the Tritons held a commanding 45-24 rebounding edge, and fell 75-67 two days later against Maryville University despite a career-high 34 points from Mary Dineen.
 
Dineen leads the Hawks in scoring on the season, dropping 14.9 points per game while also grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game. Lauren Meyers adds 13.4 ppg and a team-best 5.3 rpg while Kendall Hart chips in 10.0 ppg.
 
Rockhurst is one of the top teams in the league in steals (9.42 per game) and blocks (3.79), ranking third in the GLVC in both categories but ranks near the bottom of the conference in rebounding margin, checking in at 15th (-3.0).
 
Feb. 7 vs. William Jewell College at Mabee Center (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Cardinals have met just twice on the hardwood with William Jewell winning both encounters. UW-Parkside owned a 16-point advantage last season before ultimately falling 66-63 on Feb. 6 inside DeSimone Gymnasium. Jewell is in just its fourth season as a member of NCAA Division II, having been a longtime member of the NAIA and the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (11-8, 6-5 GLVC) heads into Thursday's clash with Lewis University having lost three of its last four games. The Cardinals woes began on Jan. 22, falling 61-58 to host Truman State University to snap a four-game win streak. Jewell dropped a 78-76 nailbiter to Quincy University two days later before claiming an 88-85 overtime win at the expense of Maryville last Thursday. Jewell was unable to match the firepower of UMSL on Saturday afternoon, stumbling 69-49 inside the Mabee Center.
 
The Cardinals have been a tough club to play in Liberty, Missouri, winning seven of their nine home games this season.
 
Jewell has three players averaging in double figures, led by Aerial Smith who averages 12.9 points per game along with a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game and 4.6 assists per game. Maddie Nelson adds 11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.4 steals per game while Hayli Jo Smith pours on 10.6 ppg along with 4.2 rpg.  
 
The Cardinals lead the GLVC in three-pointers made, sinking 149 on the season (7.84 per game) and sit second in the league in steals (9.84 per game) but has struggled defensively, allowing its opponents to shoot 42.4 percent from the field, ranking 15th in the GLVC.
 
Streaks: The Rangers current nine game win streak is the team's longest stretch of wins since claiming nine straight during the 2011-2012 season. Parkside netted nine in a row from Jan. 26 through Feb. 23 in 2011-2012, with the streak getting snapped in the second round of the GLVC Tournament. The Rangers finished the year with a 24-6 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season.
 
Parkside's last double digit win streak was 10-straight during the 2008-2009 campaign.
 
Bench Buckets: UW-Parkside has generated points off the bench all season with the reserves outscoring the starters six 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.
 
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 72 of their last 83 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.
 
Civil Servant Day: The Rangers will host Civil Servant Day on Thursday, Feb. 12 against Missouri University S&T to honor all emergency service, government, and military personal. All civil servants will receive free admission to the game with valid ID with the Rangers donning camouflage uniforms for the occasion. Civil servants will receive raffle tickets at the event with the opportunity to win a game-worn jersey.
 
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.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be former Ranger student-athlete Danielle Slivka along with Oliver Wiseman and Dean Mlachnik.