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

Box Score

SOMERS, Wis. (Jan. 2, 2016)-- The third period proved to be the Achilles heel for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, having its Great Lakes Valley Conference home opener spoiled 67-63 at the hands of East Division rival and seventh-ranked Lewis University inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
The host Rangers (7-4, 1-2 GLVC) outscored the nationally-ranked Flyers (12-1, 3-0 GLVC) in two of the four periods but was unable to fully overcome a 13-point deficit late in a game featuring seven lead changes and two ties.
 
A Shelby Cheston layup gave homestanding Parkside the 38-37 advantage with 5:07 left in the third period but Lewis closed the quarter on an 11-2 run, enjoying a 48-40 lead heading into the final 10-minute segment of the afternoon. The Rangers reduced the gap to just six early in the fourth on a Rani Singh three but a 7-0 Flyer run gave the nationally-ranked visitors their largest lead of the day at 13 with 5:57 left.
 
UW-Parkside refused to quit, pulling within three with 20 seconds left on a Tara Knapstein three but LU's Alyssa Siwek hit a free throw with 14 seconds left and a Ranger three fell short with six ticks left as the Flyers held on for the win.
 
The Green and White came out swinging with Brittney Fair and Bailey North hitting threes to secure an early 6-0 lead. UW-Parkside led 10-7 with 4:50 remaining in the first period but Lewis tallied the final 11 points of the opening stanza, enjoying an 18-10 lead after 10 minutes of play. The Flyer lead jumped to 10 with just under eight minutes left in the second period before the Rangers piled on 11 straight to recapture the lead. Fair, Asiah Lawson, and Rani Singh all buried threes during the run while another three from Singh gave UW-Parkside the 31-28 edge with 43 seconds left. The lead was short lived after Mariyah Brawner-Henley hit a half court buzzer beater as the two teams headed to the locker room tied at 31.
 
Fair poured on a season-high 16 points to pace the Rangers, shooting six-for-10 from the field while also dishing out seven assists. Singh added a career-high 15 points, draining five of her six attempts from three-point range while Jessica Prince secured nine rebounds while netting three steals.
 
Brawner-Henley was a one-woman wrecking crew for Lewis, netting 30 points and 16 boards while Jessica Kelliher and Kayla Brewer chipped in 19 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Nearly 2/3rds of Parkside's offense came from the non-starters with the reserves owning a 41-2 edge over the Flyer bench. The Rangers enjoyed a 17-9 edge in second chance points and a 14-6 lead in points off turnovers but was outmuscled 38-12 in points in the paint.
 
The Rangers continue their homestand on Thursday, hosting Missouri University S&T at 5:30 p.m. in a GLVC interdivisional showdown.