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

NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket

UW-Parkside's NCAA Tournament Page

Midwest Regional Information Page

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 10, 2015)-- After a one-year absence the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team is back in the NCAA Division II Tournament, heading up to the Upper Peninsula for the Midwest Regional as the seventh seed.
 
The Rangers begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, taking on second seed and Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival Lewis University at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) inside Michigan Tech University's SDC Gymnasium in Houghton. Live stats, video, and audio will be provided with Mark Albanese on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.
 
Midwest Regional Schedule: The winner of Friday's Parkside-Lewis showdown will face the winner of the Drury University-Wayne State University game in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time). The regional finals will be contested on Monday night at 7 p.m. (Eastern Time). All games will be contested inside the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, Michigan.
 
Friday's opening round begins at 12 p.m. (ET) with third seed Drury facing sixth seed Wayne State. UW-Parkside and Lewis tango at 2:30 p.m. (ET) in the second contest of the opening session. Host and top seed Michigan Tech hits the floor at 5 p.m. (ET) to face eighth seed Cedarville University while fourth seed University of Southern Indiana and fifth seed Ashland University close out the night with a 7:30 p.m. (ET) clash.
 
The second round takes place on Saturday with the first semifinal tipping off at 5 p.m. (ET) while game two gets underway at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
 
Ticket Information: Tickets for the NCAA Midwest Regional are on sale at Michigan Tech's Central Ticket Office (906-487-2073). Prices are $15 for reserved seats, $10 for general admission, and $5 for youth (age 3 through grade 12).

Each ticket will be good for one round of competition at the SDC Gym (ie. one ticket covers all four games Friday).
 
NCAA Tournament History: The Rangers are making their sixth trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, owning a 5-5 mark in the big dance with two trips to the NCAA Sweet 16.
 
The Rangers earned NCAA bids during the 2012-2013, 2011-2012, 2010-2011, 2009-2010, and 2004-2005 seasons. UW-Parkside advanced past the opening round in 2013, 2012, and 2011 tournaments, while making an appearance in the Sweet 16 in both 2012 and 2011.
 
Parkside defeated Lewis 59-49 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 in Ashland, Ohio, before falling to Wayne State 70-60 in the second round.
 
The Rangers are no strangers to the Upper Peninsula, having played four previous NCAA Tournament contests in Houghton, Michigan. The Green and White own a 2-2 record in tournament games contested inside SDC Gymnasium, going 0-1 inside the facility at the 2010 NCAA Tournament while advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2011, falling to host Michigan Tech 69-57 in the regional final.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (22-7) enjoyed one of the biggest single season turnarounds in the nation this season, going from 8-18 in 2013-2014 to 22-7 this season. The Rangers prolific turnaround included a program-record 12-game win streak spanning 43 days during January and February.
 
UW-Parkside advanced to the GLVC Tournament Semifinals last weekend in Saint Charles, Missouri, defeating Quincy University 65-61 in the quarterfinals on Mar. 6 before falling 70-66 to eventual league champion Drury University in the semifinals. Four of the Rangers' seven defeats this season have come at the hands of NCAA Tournament squads, dropping two games to Drury and two games to Lewis.
 
Against Quincy, Kristin Conniff matched a season-high with 19 points to pace the Rangers who led by as many as 13 points in the quarterfinal victory. QU and Parkside exchanged leads four times over the first three minutes before a 13-2 run gave the Rangers the lead. UW-Parkside never trailed the rest of the way.
 
The Hawks battled back in the second half, closing with two with 1:23 remaining but the Rangers converting all four of their free throws down the stretch and got a layup from Conniff late in the game to secure the win.
 
The next day, Parkside led for 35 of the 40 minutes played but was unable to contain eighth-ranked Drury down the stretch, suffering a four-point setback. UW-Parkside collected the opening six points of the game and owned a 19-9 edge with 13:05 left in the first half. The Panthers battled back, staking a 34-33 edge at the halftime break after hitting a layup with 12 seconds left.
 
Back to back threes swung the lead back to the Rangers early in the second half and owned a six-point buffer with 4:41 remaining but the Panthers mounted a 13-2 run to seize the lead for good.
 
Bronson led the Rangers with 19 points, surpassing the 1,000-point barrier in her career with a free throw with 16 seconds remaining. Tara Knapstein added 12 points while Jessica Prince had nine boards.
 
One of just two players to start all 29 games this season, First Team All-GLVC selection Gaby Bronson leads the Rangers averaging 12.6 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, and 4.8 assists per game. Conniff contributes 10.1 points per game and has drained a team-leading 44 three-pointers on the season while Knapstein is the leading scorer off the bench, averaging 9.2 ppg along with 3.6 rpg and a team-best 19 blocks. Stephanie Furr adds 7.6 ppg while Brittney Fair adds 5.9 ppg off the bench with a team-leading 43 steals.
 
Jessica Prince averages 4.7 rpg while GLVC All-Defensive Team selection Sarah Mlachnik averages 4.6 rpg with 41 steals and is the only other Ranger to start all 29 games in 2014-2015.
 
UW-Parkside owns one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, ranking 16th in NCAA Division II (out of 300) in scoring defense, yielding a paltry 57.8 points per game while ranking 23rd in rebounding margin (+6.8) and 28th in three-point field goal defense (27.8 percent).
 
Mar. 13 vs. Lewis University at SDC Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Flyers have battled 61 times on the hardwood with Lewis owning a 40-21 advantage in the all-time series. The two squads met twice during the regular season with the Flyers prevailing on both occasions.
 
Lewis won 76-61 on Dec. 4 inside Neil Carey, negating an early Ranger lead with an 18-0 run midway through the first half and led the rest of the way. Parkside and Lewis met again on Feb. 26 to close out the regular season inside DeSimone Gymnasium with the Flyers again using a big run during the middle of the game to secure a 60-46 victory. The visiting Flyers used a 21-3 run midway through the contest as the Rangers were ice cold shooting from the floor in the second half.
 
About the Flyers: Fourth-ranked Lewis (28-2) suffered just its second defeat of the season on Saturday in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals, stumbling 71-66 to the University of Southern Indiana to snap the Fleyrs' five-game win streak.
 
Lewis tallied 14 consecutive points to claim an 18-3 edge with 11 minutes left in the opening stanza but the Screaming Eagles battled back, trailing just 30-21 at the halftime break.
 
USI rattled off the first 10 points of the second half, enjoying their first lead of the game with 17:27 left. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the second stanza before the Screaming Eagles took the lead for good with 2:06 left off a Mary O'Keefe jumper. USI hit all four of its free throws down the stretch run, emerging with the five-point upset win.
 
Prior to the USI loss, the Flyers only blemish was a 75-72 defeat to GLVC Tournament Champion Drury University on Feb. 12 in Romeoville, Illinois. The loss snapped a 24-game win streak for the Flyers who erased a 12-point deficit only to fall victim to a pair of Panther three-pointers late in the game.
 
Lewis features one of the nation's most potent offenses, ranking third nationally in scoring averaging 81.5 points per game. The Flyers additionally sit second in the country in both assists per game (18.9) and assist to turnover ratio (1.39) while standing fifth in field goal percentage (46.5 percent) and sixth in scoring margin (+18.3).
 
Fueling the scoring attack is Jamie Johnson and Mariyah Brawner-Henley, both averaging 17.8 points per game. Brawner-Henley averages 12.0 rebounds per game and ranks third in country in double-doubles, finishing with a double-double in 22 of the 30 games this season. Jess Reinhart tallied 14.0 ppg and 7.1 rpg while Alexus Grayer and Kristin Itschner average 10.0 and 9.5 ppg, respectively. Nikki Nellen is the squad's leading distributer, averaging 5.3 assists per contest.
 
Lewis is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament including its third straight trip to the big dance. The Flyers have previous competed at the national tournament in 2014, 2013, 2011, 2007, 2006, 2005, 1998, 1985, and 1984. Lewis owns a 3-9 record in NCAA Division II Tournament games with all three victories coming since 2006 while the Flyers have never advanced past the second round.

Field of 64: The Midwest Region is one of eight regional being contested this weekend across the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament. The champions of all eight regions will head to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Elite Eight beginning on March 24.
 
All-GLVC: The conference office released its postseason award winners on March 4 with Gaby Bronson and Sarah Mlachnik both getting honored by the GLVC. Bronson earned All-GLVC accolades for the second consecutive season, securing a spot on the 10-player First Team while Mlachnik earned a spot on the 10-player GLVC All-Defensive Team.
 
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.

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).

29-for-29: 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 29.2 minutes per game while Mlachnik averages 26.9 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.

1,001: Gaby Bronson scored 19 points in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals against Drury University on Mar. 7, becoming the 16th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier. Two Rangers from the Class of 2012 eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier (Brittany Beyer with 1,700 career points and Jadee Rooney with 1,685 points) while Brittany Hogan (2007-2011) tallied 1,151 points in the Green and White.
 
GLVC Accolades: Gaby 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 86 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 last season and finished 2014-2015 with a 7-2 mark inside DeSimone.
 
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 30-25.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be former Ranger student-athlete Danielle Slivka along with Oliver Wiseman and Dean Mlachnik.