KENOSHA, Wis. — Parkside returns home to De Simone Arena for a marquee GLIAC week, opening with a visit from the No. 1 team in the country as top-ranked Grand Valley State comes to Kenosha on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Rangers will then close the home weekend Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m. CT against Davenport.

Parkside enters the week 8-8 overall and 3-5 in GLIAC play, sitting in a tie for sixth in the league standings. The Rangers are 4-4 at home this season and return to Kenosha coming off a 1-1 road swing that featured both a furious comeback attempt and the team's most dominant result of the year.

On Thursday in Detroit, Parkside dropped a 95-88 decision at Wayne State. The Rangers trailed by as many as 21 in the third quarter before trimming the deficit to seven late behind a 31-point fourth quarter push. Two days later, Parkside responded in a big way, rolling to a 92-46 win at Purdue Northwest. The Rangers doubled up the Pride behind a season-high 37 points off turnovers and a season-high 20 points from Nakiyah Hurst, turning defense into offense for four quarters.

Through 16 games, Parkside's profile has been built on balance, efficiency and rim protection. The Rangers own the GLIAC's fifth-best offense at 71.4 points per game while also ranking fifth defensively at 65.6 allowed per game. Parkside is shooting 42.8% from the floor while holding opponents to 38.3%, pairing a top-three league field goal percentage with a top-three field goal defense. At the rim, Parkside has leaned into a true identity: the Rangers average 4.6 blocks per game (74 total), a mark that ranks first in the GLIAC and 18th nationally. Parkside has also created extra possessions with activity, averaging 8.4 steals per game (134 total), while winning the rebounding battle by +2.1 per game (37.9-35.9).

The season's arc has shown up in Parkside's scoring flow, too. The Rangers have outscored opponents in three of four quarters on the year, including a +49 margin in the first quarter (334-285) that has helped Parkside set tone early. When Parkside pairs its early pace with clean execution, the Rangers are difficult to catch — and that formula showed up again Saturday at Purdue Northwest.

Individually, Parkside has multiple proven levers it can pull, beginning with one of the league's most productive backcourts.

Katie Hamill continues to anchor the Rangers on both ends and enters the week averaging a team-best 15.6 points per game (250 points) while shooting 43.8% from the field (89-for-203) and 33.7% from 3-point range (29-for-86). Hamill's efficiency has been highlighted at the free-throw line, where she is 43-for-46 (93.5%) and leading the entire country in free throw percentage. Hamill has also added 82 rebounds (5.1 per game), 36 assists, 38 steals and 10 blocks while averaging a team-high 33.0 minutes per contest.

Peighton Nelson has remained the Rangers' engine as a creator, pacing Parkside with 76 assists — 4.8 per game — while averaging 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per night. Nelson's ability to initiate offense, pressure the paint and keep Parkside's spacing organized has driven the Rangers' assist production as a team (15.9 assists per game). Nelson has also contributed 18 steals and nine blocks.

Cassidy Arni provides a second consistent scoring punch and has been one of the league's most frequent visitors to the foul line. Arni is averaging 13.6 points per game (217 total) while shooting 46.3% (74-for-160). She leads Parkside with 88 free-throw attempts and 59 made free throws, and she has added 5.6 rebounds per game (89 total) and 45 assists. Arni's all-around impact has included 12 blocks and 26 steals.

In the frontcourt, Lillie Petersen has delivered steady production and physicality, averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game (120 total rebounds). Petersen is shooting 45.5% from the floor (66-for-145), has added 33 assists, and is also one of Parkside's key rim protectors with 10 blocks.

Parkside has also found important complementary production across the rotation. Jaelyn Derlein is averaging 7.7 points per game and has stretched defenses with 22 made 3s in 11 games (22-for-57, 38.6%), giving Parkside another perimeter threat to pair with Hamill's volume. Alli Hampel has been highly efficient inside, shooting 50.6% (39-for-77) while averaging 6.2 points in 18.8 minutes per game, and Lexi Bugajski has provided key two-way minutes with 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and a team-high 12 blocks.

Thursday, Jan. 22
No. 1 Grand Valley State at Parkside
5:30 p.m. CT | De Simone Arena | Kenosha, Wis.

Saturday, Jan. 24
Davenport at Parkside
1 p.m. CT | DeSimone Arena | Kenosha, Wis.

SCOUTING NO. 1 GRAND VALLEY STATE:
The reigning national champions arrive in Kenosha as the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II, entering the week a perfect 16-0 overall and 8-0 in GLIAC play. Grand Valley State has not fallen below No. 1 in the national polls all season and is one of just four undefeated Division II teams remaining. The Lakers also own the third-most wins in the country.

Last season, Grand Valley State authored the best year in program history, finishing 38-2 overall and 19-1 in GLIAC play, winning the GLIAC regular season championship (fourth straight), the GLIAC tournament championship (third straight), and the second national championship in program history with a title-game victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. It marked the Lakers' fourth consecutive season with 30 or more wins, and they won 37 of their 38 victories by double figures. This season, Grand Valley has picked up right where it left off, remaining the lone undefeated team in the GLIAC and continuing to separate through both ends of the floor.

Statistically, the Lakers have been the league's standard. Grand Valley leads the GLIAC in scoring at 82.3 points per game while allowing just 53.3 per contest, producing the nation's best scoring margin at +29.0. The Lakers are shooting 44.5% from the field while holding opponents to 36.4%. Grand Valley has also controlled the glass at 41.8 rebounds per game with a +10.6 rebounding margin (41.8-31.3), and the Lakers have consistently turned defense into points by forcing 25.5 turnovers per game while owning a +9.9 turnover margin. That pressure has shown up in the passing lanes, as Grand Valley averages 13.9 steals per game (223 total), and the Lakers remain elite at the rim with 4.2 blocks per game.

Grand Valley is coming off an 88-59 road win at No. 22 Ferris State on Jan. 19, a game in which the Lakers poured in 51 second-half points and placed five players in double figures. Paige VanStee led the way with 26 points, and Grand Valley's defense created separation with turnover pressure and paint production.

Under 11th-year head coach Mike Williams — the program's all-time winningest head coach — the Lakers were picked to repeat as GLIAC champions, earning all 10 first-place votes and a perfect 100 points in the preseason coaches poll.

VanStee headlines the current roster and enters the week averaging 15.6 points per game (249 total) and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.6% from the field (88-for-181). She has also filled the stat sheet with 40 steals, 22 assists and 11 blocks. MacKenzie Bisballe has been one of the league's most efficient scorers at 14.9 points per game (194 total) while shooting 53.3% (81-for-152), and she has added 5.8 rebounds per game and 15 blocks in 13 games. Nicole Kamin, the preseason GLIAC Player of the Year, has served as the engine and connective tissue, producing 8.8 points per game while leading the team with 61 assists and adding 32 steals. The Lakers also feature multiple secondary threats and versatile pieces throughout the rotation, including Lexi Plitzuweit (6.5 points per game on 50.7% shooting), Ava Scanlon (8.4 points per game), and Avery Zeinstra (5.9 points per game), supporting a lineup built to win in multiple ways.

All-time, Grand Valley State leads the series 22-5 and holds a 10-3 edge in Kenosha. Parkside is 2-8 in the last 10 meetings, but Ranger fans will never forget last season's 79-77 win in Kenosha over then No. 1 Grand Valley, handing the eventual national champions their only loss to a Division II opponent and their only GLIAC loss of the year. Parkside snapped an eight-game Grand Valley winning streak in the series, though the Lakers took the other meeting last season in Allendale, 72-43, on Jan. 23, 2025.

SCOUTING DAVENPORT:
Davenport visits Kenosha on Saturday after a Thursday night trip to Chicago to face Roosevelt. The Panthers enter the week 4-12 overall and 2-6 in GLIAC play, tied for eighth in the league standings. Davenport brings in a defensive-minded profile that has been competitive in stretches, but the Panthers have struggled to consistently score against the league's top half and come into the week trying to halt a three-game slide.

On the year, Davenport is averaging 59.1 points per game while allowing 64.9, and the Panthers' clearest identity has been on the perimeter defensively. Davenport is holding opponents to 25.2% from 3-point range, the best 3-point defense figure in the GLIAC through 16 games. Opponents have also been limited to 4.6 made 3s per game. The challenge for Davenport has been on the offensive end and on the glass: the Panthers are shooting 37.6% from the field (351-for-933) and are being outrebounded 40.1-34.4 per game (a -5.7 margin).

Individually, the Panthers are led by Maddie Geers, who is averaging a team-best 11.4 points per game (183 total) while shooting 45.0% (68-for-151) and averaging 33.8 minutes per game. Nevaeh Williams has been a primary creator and disruptive defender, averaging 11.0 points per game (132 total) while leading Davenport with 43 assists in 12 games and producing 29 steals. Ellie Toney has added 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Anna Axtell has been a key perimeter scorer at 9.2 points per game and a team-high 24 made 3s (24-for-73). Davenport also gets interior production from Kayla Covington (6.1 points per game on 50.0% shooting) and Reese Polega (5.5 points per game), with the Panthers using depth and ball pressure to manufacture runs.

Parkside is 11-1 all-time against Davenport and a perfect 6-0 in Kenosha. The Rangers suffered their first-ever loss to the Panthers last season, falling 57-51 in Grand Rapids on Jan. 25, 2025. Eight of Parkside's 11 wins over Davenport have come by double figures.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Following the home weekend, Parkside hits the road next week for its first set of GLIAC rematches, traveling to University Center, Michigan, to face Saginaw Valley State on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 4:30 p.m. CT before heading north to Sault Ste. Marie for a matchup with Lake Superior State on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 12 p.m. CT.

To follow the Rangers throughout the season, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.