Kenosha, Wis. – After a two-game road trip, the Parkside Rangers return to De Simone Arena for a pair of conference battles this weekend. The Rangers will kick off the second half of the GLIAC season with games against Saginaw Valley State on Thursday night and Wayne State on Saturday afternoon. Additionally, Parkside Head Coach Jen Conely sits one victory away from 100 in her career.

Last Weekend for the Rangers
Parkside previously hit the road for games against No. 1 Grand Valley State and Davenport. For the first time all season, Parkside dropped consecutive games, losing just their second and third road games this season. Luckily for the Rangers, their record still stands at 11-6, with a 6-4 conference record. As it stands today, Parkside is tied for fourth place in the conference, knotted up with Wayne State. The GLIAC, as per usual, is closely contested, with the Rangers sitting just two games out of second place.

With the second half of the season commencing, Parkside will now play teams for a second time, beginning this weekend. Parkside completed a weekend sweep over Wayne State and Saginaw Valley on January 9th and 11th, respectively. In the win over Saginaw Valley State, Parkside saw six players score eight or more points, with Kendal Zeiter leading the way with 14. Parkside rode a monster 23-point third quarter to a victory. Against Wayne State, it was a 23-point fourth quarter that lifted the Rangers over the Warriors.

Parkside has lost three of its last four games and will look to work out of the brief slump this weekend. In the process, Head Coach Jen Conely has the opportunity to earn her 100th win. She would become the third head coach in program history to achieve that milestone.

FULL GAME NOTES HERE

Scouting Saginaw Valley State
The Cardinals enter the weekend 10-8 overall and 4-6 in conference games. They are 2-2 since their last meeting against Parkside, with an impressive victory over Northern Michigan on the road. The Cardinals had an incredible showing, scoring 29 points in the second quarter and then proceeding to hold Northern Michigan to just four points in the third quarter. Saginaw Valley State's leading scorer, Megan McCalla, was on fire, scoring a game-high 25 points. McCalla was critical again for the Cardinals last weekend, as her 24 points were the difference in a victory over Roosevelt at home. McCalla is currently the leading scorer in the GLIAC, averaging 17.8 points per game.

Despite the big victory on the road over Northern Michigan, the Cardinals are 4-5 in road games, as opposed to their 6-3 record at home. Aside from McCalla's offensive production, Aleshia Jones has also been impactful, averaging 14.1 points per game. However, Jones was held to just eight points in the previous meeting with Parkside, and the Cardinals will hope for a more impactful performance this weekend.

Scouting Wayne State
As mentioned prior, Wayne State and Parkside are even in the GLIAC standings with 6-4 records. The Warriors will open the weekend on Thursday night in Hammond, Indiana, against Purdue Northwest. Overall, they are 11-7 and have won two straight contests heading into the new weekend. Digging even deeper, they have won four of their last five games since their loss to Parkside on January 9. In that time span, they have accumulated victories over Purdue Northwest, Northern Michigan on the road, Saginaw Valley State, and Roosevelt. They have been a great team at home, winning eight of twelve games in Detroit, but carry just a 3-3 record in road games.

So far this season, Wayne State has gotten production across the board. In fact, they have four players averaging in double figures: Taylor Thompson (12.3), Shea Tripp (12.3), McKenna Ferguson (11.5), and Gabi Lutchka (10.5). Additionally, Thompson averages nearly a double-double, with 8.9 rebounds per game, which also ranks second best in the GLIAC. In the previous contest against Parkside, Ferguson finished with a game-high 17 points.

History
Parkside holds an impressive 12-4 all-time record against Saginaw Valley State and will look to make it three wins in a row on Thursday night. On the other hand, Parkside holds a tight 10-9 advantage over Wayne State and will search for a season sweep over them this Saturday at home.