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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 10, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team embarks on a two-state tour this week, opening in Missouri against Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division foe Truman State University before crossing the Mississippi River to face 20th-ranked Quincy University.
 
The Rangers and Bulldogs hit the floor at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Kirksville, Missouri while UW-Parkside and Quincy square off at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (13-8, 7-6 GLVC) split its weekend slate of games for the fourth consecutive week, dropping another Thursday heartbreaker before rallying for the victory on Saturday.
 
Last Thursday, the Rangers fell 67-64 to William Jewell College despite owning an 11-point lead in the second period. On Saturday, UW-Parkside trailed by 14 to visiting Rockhurst University but clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter, holding the Hawks scoreless over the final 5:31 to claim the 64-58 win.
 
Against Jewell, the Rangers owned a 19-11 edge after one quarter of play and had its lead balloon to 11 with 6:31 left before halftime as Kristin Conniff nailed a three. The Cardinals fought back however, closing the half on a 15-3 run as Parkside led by just one at the break. WJC owned a seven point lead with under a minute to go before a Brittney fair jumper sliced the lead to a single possession with 22 ticks left. The Rangers stole the ball and had a chance to tie but an errant inbounds pass gave the ball back William Jewell who iced the game with a pair of free throws with eight seconds left.
 
Conniff led the Rangers with 19 points, hitting five treys during the game while Jessica Prince finished one board shy of a double-double, scoring 10 points with nine rebounds.
 
Against Rockhurst, the host Rangers overcame a 14-point hole, including a seven point fourth quarter deficit to emerge with the program's fifth consecutive Saturday victory. The Hawks led by 14 in the opening half and enjoyed a seven point cushion with 7:40 remaining before the hosts scored 15 of the final 17 points of the game, keeping Rockhurst off the scoreboard for over five minutes to net the win.
 
Stephanie Furr led the way for the Rangers scoring 21 points while Prince and Shelby Cheston each added 10 points.
 
Furr is the Rangers' leading scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game while also netting 6.1 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game. Conniff adds 12.2 ppg, having hit 38 treys on the year while Tara Knapstein piles on 9.8 ppg with 4.4 rpg and a team-best 29 steals. Prince paces the Green and White with 6.6 rpg while Cheston is one of the league's top shot blockers, collecting 24 blocks during the 2015-2016 campaign.
 
UW-Parkside rates second in the GLVC in rebounding margin (+5.7), and third in free throw percentage (75.5 percent) while ranking fourth among the 16-team conference in scoring defense (61.2 points per game), rebounding offense (38.9), rebounding defense (33.1), assists (14.57), assist/turnover ratio (0.99), and three-point field goals made (6.57).
 
Feb. 11 vs. Truman State University at Pershing Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Bulldogs have met just twice on the hardwood since Truman joined the GLVC prior to the 2013-2014 season with the Missouri outfit winning both meetings. Free throws paved the way to a TSU win on both occasions with the Bulldogs getting to the line 33 times in a 74-68 win on Jan. 5, 2014 while making 43 trips to the charity stripe last season on Jan. 2, prevailing 78-66 in Kirksville, Missouri.
 
About the Bulldogs: Truman State (16-7, 10-3 GLVC) returns to the friendly confines of Pershing Arena having won six of its last seven games. The Bulldogs lone blemish was a 72-59 thrashing at the hands of then No. 18 Drury University on Jan. 30 in Springfield, Missouri. TSU rebounded from the loss with a 63-53 win over Saint Joseph's College on Feb. 4 before capping off its four game road trip with a 53-46 win over the University of Indianapolis.
 
The Bulldogs trailed 46-43 with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter against Saint Joseph's on Feb. 4 before scoring 20 of the final 27 points to secure the win by a double-digit margin. Courtney Strait was one of three Bulldogs in double figures, leading the way with 18 points.
 
A familiar script unfolded on Saturday with the Bulldogs needing a big fourth quarter to come away with the win. UIndy owned a three point edge heading into the final 10 minutes but the Bulldogs accounted for 22 of the 34 points in the final period to earn the five-point road win.
 
Pershing Arena has been a tough venue for opponents this season with Truman owning an 8-2 record inside the facility in 2015-2016.
 
Michalina Tomczak is the Bulldogs leader in several statistical categories, guiding the team in points (10.7 per game), rebounds (5.9 per game), and blocks (47). Strait averages 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg while Rachel Steinhoff and Kasey Gassensmith chip in 9.1 and 8.9 ppg, respectively.
 
Truman leads the GLVC in scoring defense, surrendering just 54.4 points per game and sits second in the conference in field goal defense (35.1 percent), blocks (4.26), and defensive rebounds (27.17). On the other end of the spectrum, the Bulldogs rank last in the GLVC in both assists (11.13) and steals (7.09).
 
Feb. 13 vs. Quincy University at Pepsi Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: The Rangers and Hawks have met 38 times on the hardwood with Parkside enjoying a 21-17 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Quincy scored the first 13 points of the game but a gritty Ranger squad battled back with Stephanie Furr hitting the game winner with six ticks left as UW-Parkside won 55-54 on Jan. 4, kicking off the team's record-setting 12-game GLVC win streak.
 
About the Hawks: 20th-ranked Quincy (19-3, 10-3 GLVC) began the calendar year with three straight GLVC weekend sweeps before splitting its games the last two weekends on the road. The Hawks edged UIndy 73-72 in overtime on Feb. 4 before suffering a 73-63 defeat at the hands of Saint Joseph's.
 
Against UIndy, Quincy owned a 15-point lead early in the game only to let it slip away as the Greyhounds held a six-point spread with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter. QU's Kara Gerbus hit a three with 15 seconds left to force overtime while Maggie Cunningham hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left in extra time to secure the road win.
 
The Hawks have yet to taste defeat inside Pepsi Arena this season owning a 12-0 mark in 2015-2016 and have won their last 15 games in the facility. 
 
Cunningham leads the Hawks in scoring (12.0 points per game), rebounding (5.7 per game), assists (5.1 per game) and steals (48). Gerbus contributes 11.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg with Anika Webster collecting 11.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg.
 
Quincy ranks second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (40.6 percent) and rebounding defense (32.6) while sitting third in field goal percentage (43.9 percent), turnover margin (+2.95), and three-point field goals made (7.23). The Hawks also register fourth in scoring offense (72.3 ppg) and free throw percentage (74.7 percent).
 
National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 26th in the nation in free throw percentage, connecting on 75.5 percent of attempts this season and ranks 39th nationally in rebounding margin (+5.7).
 
Knap Time: Tara Knapstein became the 17th Ranger to collect 1,000 career points on Jan. 23 in UW-Parkside's victory over the University of Southern Indiana. Knapstein tallied point number 1,000 on a layup in the third quarter and ended the game with 1,002 career points. The senior is second Ranger to do so in the Jacob Yorg era, joining Gaby Bronson who finished her career last season with 1,015 total points.
 
Perfect at the Line Part 2: UW-Parkside's 13-for-13 shooting performance at the free throw line on Jan. 30 in the team's 70-53 win over the University of Illinois Springfield was the second perfect outing for the Rangers at the line this season. Just seven days prior, the Green and White posted a 14-for-14 effort at the charity stripe in a 72-60 victory over the University of Southern Indiana. Prior to USI, the Rangers last perfect effort at the line was on Jan. 28, 2012 with UW-Parkside downing the University of Indianapolis 73-70 behind a 13-for-13 performance at the charity stripe. All told, it is the eighth time since the start of the 2007-2008 season the Rangers have been perfect at the line, including a 16-for-16 effort in a GLVC Tournament setback to Missouri University S&T on Mar. 6, 2009.
 
Weekend Warriors: UW-Parkside has split its GLVC games in each of the last four weeks. In each week, the Rangers dropped the Thursday night game only to rebound with a win on Saturday. Parkside has owned leads in all four Thursday games and have dropped the four of midweek showdowns by a combined 12 points, including three contests decided in the final seconds. UW-Parkside has won by an average margin of 12 points over the past four Saturdays while winning five consecutive Saturday showdowns, including a 54-48 win over #6 Drury University on Jan. 9.
 
Nike Camp: The UW-Parkside women's basketball program will host the 2016 Nike Camp on July 10-13 for girls ages eight to 16. The camp is the only Nike Camp in Wisconsin for girls and will feature a camper to instructor ratio of 8-to-1. More information can be found at parksiderangers.com/camps.

Mix-and-Match: 12 different Rangers have earned starts this season as the squad has utilized 10 unique starting lineups over the course of the 21 games this season. Kristin Conniff and Jessica Prince have been the most consistent faces in the starting five, both making 18 starts this season while freshman point guard Taylor Stephen has made 16 starts.

Road Warriors: Heavy travel during the non-conference slate, a staple of Head Coach Jacob Yorg, continued this season with 11 of the first 12 games being played at neutral sites or on the road. The season-opening barnstorming tour featured 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 played 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.
 
Time Zone Travelers: The barnstorming Rangers had a stretch of four games in four different time zones during the epic non-conference road swing. The streak began in Alaska, downing Sonoma State University 73-63 on Nov. 28 in the Alaskan Time Zone. The Rangers rolled the University of Indianapolis 68-61 on Dec. 3 in the Eastern Time Zone to open GLVC action before falling 67-63 to Saint Joseph's in UW-Parkside's native Central Time Zone on Dec. 5. The streak continued on Dec. 18 with the Rangers routing Concordia University Oregon 65-43 in the Pacific Time Zone at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Seattle, Washington.

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).
 
Aerial Assault: Seniors Tara Knapstein and Kristin Conniff have both etched their names in the record book for their ability to shoot the three. Knapstein ranks eighth on the all-time list with 112 threes, sitting eight shy of Jamie Nebel (1999-2003) in seventh place while Kristin Conniff sits ninth with 104 career threes, eight shy of Knapstein and 16 short of Nebel.

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 78 of their last 94 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. In addition, the Rangers have knocked off four nationally-ranked teams inside DeSimone Gymnasium since the 2012-2013 season, including a nationally-televised victory over #6 Drury University on Jan. 9.
 
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 43-34.
 
Joining Yorg on the bench this season will be assistants Courtney Boyd, Dean Mlachnik, and Dave Mentkowski. 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. Mentkowski is also in his first tour of duty with the Parkside women's program.