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Box Score

NCAA Tournament Bracket

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 15, 2013)-- It took four tries but the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team got it done when it mattered most. Powered by three players in double figures, the Rangers disposed 20th-ranked Lewis University 59-49 on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Division II Tournament at Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio.

After dethroning the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Champion Flyers (24-6), the seventh-seeded Rangers (21-9) will return to the court on Saturday at 4 p.m. against sixth-seeded Wayne State University in the second round. The Warriors knocked off third-seed University of Findlay, 63-58.

UW-Parkside closed the opening half on a 12-2 run, taking a nine point lead into the halftime break. The Rangers and second-seeded Flyers traded punches the opening 14 minutes of action, with the lead exchanging hands 10 times along with three ties. A Nikki Nellen three with 5:44 left gave the Flyers what proved to be their final lead of the day at 26-25 with UWP closing the half with a 12-2 spurt to enjoy a 37-28 lead at the break.

Jenna Endisch reclaimed the lead for the Rangers with a layup with 5:25 left before a Danielle Slivka layup and a Tara Knapstein three pushed the UWP advantage to six points. The Rangers extended the buffer to nine just over two minutes before the half as Kiah Simon converted a three the old fashioned way. Lewis tallied a layup with 66 seconds left but the Rangers hit two free throws in the final 48 seconds of the half for a nine point edge.

UW-Parkside held an eight-point safety net the entire second half en route to the 10-point victory. The Rangers led by as many as 17 points, first with 8:26 left off a Sierra West layup and again with 7:12 left courtesy of a Simon jumper. Lewis fought back, closing within single digits with 1:39 left but the Rangers converted seven of their nine free throw attempts down the stretch to earn the win and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

Three Rangers registered in double figures on the afternoon with Kiah Simon paving the way with 15 points, draining seven of her 11 shots from the floor. Jenna Endisch collected 13 points and five rebounds while Tara Knapstein added 11 points and six rebounds. Danielle Slivka led the team with nine boards while chipping in seven points on the offensive end.

Nellen led Lewis with 23 points, including 14 of the team's 28 first half points while Mariyah Henley and Sam Rinehart collected eight rebounds.

UW-Parkside shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) for the game while limiting Lewis to shooting just 27 percent (17-for-63), including a dismal 21.2 percent (seven-for-33) in the second half. UWP dominated the paint, owning a 32-12 edge.

The Rangers dropped the first three meetings against the Flyers this season, including a 61-59 setback six days ago in the semifinals of the 2013 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. UWP has faced Lewis three times in its last five games.