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

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 24, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team continues to jostle for Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament positioning on Thursday, capping off the regular season against East Division nemesis Lewis University.

The Rangers and fifth-ranked Flyers tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Romeoville, Illinois. Live stats, video, and audio will be available online through parksiderangers.com.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (13-12, 7-10 GLVC) locked up a spot in the 12-team GLVC Tournament on Saturday despite dropping its fourth straight game. The Rangers have plenty on the line on Thursday and control their own destiny with a win guaranteeing a home game on Saturday to open the GLVC Tournament. A Parkside loss doesn't close the door on hosting an opening round game but several other dominoes must fall for that to occur as the final day of the regular season could end with the Rangers as high as a seven seed or as low as an 11 seed.

UW-Parkside charged out to an early lead against Saint Joseph's College on Feb. 18 but the visiting Pumas utilized an 18-2 run midway through the first quarter to take control, netting the 76-62 win. Tara Knapstein paced the Rangers with 21 points while Brittney Fair added 17 points off the bench, draining seven of her 10 shots from the floor. Parkside was unable to bottle up Kalea Parks who tallied 30 points, including 22 in the opening half.

Another big scoring run doomed the Green and White on Saturday as visiting University of Indianapolis spoiled Senior Day with a 21-2 second half run to claim the 69-59 win. The Rangers led by as many as 11 in the opening half and enjoyed a 35-28 advantage at the intermission. UW-Parkside led 44-42 with 51 seconds left in the third quarter but the Greyhounds ripped off 21 of the next 23 and owned a nine-point buffer the rest of the way. Fair and Knapstein again provided the one-two punch for the Rangers, netting 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Stephanie Furr paces the Ranger offense, averaging a team-best 13.0 points per game while also collecting 5.8 rebounds per game. Furr additionally tallies 2.3 assists per game while nabbing a team-best 31 steals. Kristin Conniff adds 11.0 ppg and is the team's main sharpshooter, having canned 41 treys on the year. Knapstein is the third Ranger averaging in double figures, chipping in 10.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Brittney Fair adds 8.1 ppg off the bench while Jessica Prince pulls down a team-best 6.6 rpg while also adding 5.1 ppg and collecting 10 blocks.

UW-Parkside ranks fourth in the GLVC in free throw percentage (75.1 percent) while sitting fifth in the conference in rebounding offense (37.3), rebounding margin ( 3.6), assist to turnover ratio (0.96), and offensive rebounds (12.76).

Feb. 25 vs. Lewis University at Neil Carey Arena (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have tangled 63 times on the hardwood with the Flyers owning a 42-21 edge in the all-time series. The two teams last met on Jan. 2 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with the then-No. 7 Lewis emerging with the 67-63 victory. The Rangers were undermined by a rough third period, getting outscored by a 17-9 margin after the score was deadlocked at halftime.

About the Flyers: Fifth-ranked Lewis (26-1, 17-0 GLVC) has already locked up the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament and stands one win shy of becoming the first team since Drury University in 2005-2006 to survive the GLVC slate without a blemish.

The Flyers are currently riding a 21-game winning streak having last tasted defeat on Nov. 25 against host Grand Valley State University (71-63) for the team's lone setback of the 2015-2016 campaign.

Lewis used a big third period to pull away with the 64-55 victory on Feb. 18 against UIndy while needing overtime on Saturday to escape with the 56-49 win over Saint Joseph's. In that game, the Flyers trailed by as many as seven points in the third period and trailed by five with 2:22 left before scoring the final five points of regulation. The Flyers continued to dominate in overtime collecting eight of the nine points scored in the bonus five minute session.

Moriah Brawner-Henley leads the Flyer scoring attack, ranking second in the GLVC averaging 20.4 points per game while leading the conference in rebounding with 11.6 per game. Jessica Kelliher sits third in the league in scoring with 18.3 ppg while Alyssa Siwek chips in 7.2 ppg.

Lewis leads the GLVC in several statistical categories, including scoring margin ( 15.4), field goal percentage (49.8 percent), field goal defense (33.8 percent), rebounding defense (31.4), rebounding margin ( 7.4), and defensive rebounds (28.3) while sitting second in scoring defense (56.1 ppg), and rebounding offense (38.8), blocks (4.41). The Flyers additional slot third in the 16-team league in three-point shooting (37.1 percent), assist to turnover ratio (0.97).

National Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside sits 31st nationally in free throw percentage, hitting 75.1 percent of its chances from the charity stripe. The Flyers rank in the top 20 nationally in eight statistical categories, sitting third in field goal percentage (49.8 percent), fourth in won-lost percentage (96.3), seventh in field goal defense (33.8 percent) and 11th in personal fouls per game (14.4). Lewis additionally checks in 13th in scoring defense (56.1 ppg), 17th in scoring margin ( 15.4), 19th in rebounding margin ( 7.4) and 20th in fewest fouls (390).

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.

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 25 games this season. Kristin Conniff and Jessica Prince have been the most consistent faces in the starting five, making 22 and 21 starts respectively while freshman point guard Taylor Stephen has made 20 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 117 threes, sitting three shy of Jamie Nebel (1999-2003) in seventh place while Kristin Conniff sits ninth with 107 career threes, 10 shy of Knapstein and 13 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 96 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 43-38.

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.