MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team kicks off the Horizon League schedule at home for the first time since the 2016-17 season, hosting Wright State at 2:00 pm in the Klotsche Center on Saturday. The game is a Panther Family Pack Game, where fans can get four tickets, four hot dogs, and four hats for a special price of $45.
 
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Defending Horizon League Champion Wright State has dropped three straight games and now sit at 5-6 overall. The Raiders took part in the UCF Holiday Tournament and fell by one to St. Bonaventure before dropping a 69-53 decision to UCF.
 
Wright State is an experienced group with just three true freshmen on its roster. Sophomore Angel Baker and senior Michal Miller and lead the charge for the Raiders, averaging 17.5 and 13.9 points per game, respectively. At 6-4, Tyler Frierson provides the inside presence and averages 7.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
 
As a team, Wright State leads the Horizon League in rebounds per game and has a positive margin on the boards of 5.2. The Raiders average 16.1 offensive rebounds per game which ranks 18th in the country.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Wright State earned a 73-69 victory over the Panthers at the Klotsche Center in the last meeting. Milwaukee rallied from down 13 but just fell short at home. Jamie Reit and Lizzie Odegard led with 16 points each while Odegard pulled in 12 rebounds for the double-double.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series has been very tight overall, with Wright State holding a 31-27 advantage. Milwaukee dominated from 1999-06, winning 15 straight matchups but the Raiders won 13 of 14 games from 2010 to 2015 to balance it out. The Panthers last win over Wright State was February 1, 2018 in the Klotche Center.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee will wrap up its six game homestand with a 7:00 pm contest on Monday, December 30 against Northern Kentucky. The Panthers will then play six of the next eight games on the road.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Brandi Bisping scored a career-high 22 points, but it was not enough as Milwaukee dropped a 66-58 decision against North Dakota on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers tied it up with 6:22 to play, but the Fighting Hawks shot 50 percent in the final period to hold off the Panthers.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The last time Milwaukee opened league play at home, they fell to Wright State before dominating Northern Kentucky in 2016-17.
 
Over the last five years, Milwaukee is 28-14 against Horizon League opponents on its home court. 
 
BATTLING ON THE BOARDS
Despite being undersized on Saturday, the Panthers owned a 41-35 advantage on the boards, their second straight game recording at least 40 rebounds. Milwaukee pulled in a season-best 18 offensive rebounds and turned that into 18 second chance points. The Panthers have double digit offensive boards in seven games this season, averaging 11.0 per contest. The team's rebounding margin of +1.8 currently ranks fourth in the Horizon League.
 
BISPING BREAKTHROUGH
Junior Brandi Bisping dominated on Saturday, going 8-for-10 from the floor to score a career-high 22 points. Bisping knocked down six of her eight free throw attempts and added eight boards, two assists, and two steals against UND.
 
Prior to pouring in the career-high, Bisping had been held under 10 points in five straight games.
 
SUCCESS AT THE STRIPE
Milwaukee finished 11-for14 at the line against North Dakota, a 78.6 percent performance. The Panthers have found success at the stripe, connecting on at least 80 percent of its foul shots three different times and at least 70 percent in eight games. After shooting just 66.8 percent from the charity stripe in 2018-19, the Panthers are converting 72.7 percent of their free throws this year, which ranks fourth in the Horizon League.
 
Brandi Bisping has been a major factor for Milwaukee at the line. Thanks to another solid performance against UND, the junior is now 36-for-41 from the line, a 87.8 percent clip which leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th in the nation.
 
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
The Panthers closed their non-conference schedule on Saturday and what their record doesn't show is the strength of that schedule. As of December 26, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have a 77-43 overall record and that includes an 0-9 Arkansas Pine Bluff team. Eight of the 11 opponents have a winning record and seven of those schools have won at least seven games so far this year.
 
CHANGE IT UP
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz has put out six different starting lineups this year in 11 games. She has the ability to go deep on the bench as 10 different players are averaging at least 10 minutes per game. The designation of "starters" has not really affected Milwaukee, however, as the Panthers have totaled 301 points off the bench, an average of 27.4 per game.
 
EVERYONE CHIPPING IN
After leading the team with 22 points against North Dakota, Brandi Bisping became the eighth leading scorer the Panthers have had this year. In 11 games, only Lizzie Odegard, Sydney Staver, and Tadri Heard have led Milwaukee in scoring more than once.
 
SHOOTING STRUGGLES
The Panthers have had troubles shooting the ball recently, holding a streak of six straight games converting less than 40 percent of their field goals. Milwaukee is 2-1 when shooting at least 40 percent but 1-7 in all other games. The Panthers are also just 10-for-49 from long range in the last two outings combined, a 20.4 three-point percentage.
 
ODEGARD ALL OVER
Lizzie Odegard scored just three points against UND but contributed all over the floor with five rebounds and a career-high five assists. The senior has done a little bit of everything for Milwaukee and leads the team in rebounds while ranking fourth in scoring and assists. Odegard has two double-doubles this year and has led Milwaukee in rebounding in five of the last seven games.
 
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All 15 of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN3/ESPN+. The three road Big Ten games can be found on the BIG10 Network while other road games will also stream live through ESPN.
 
Panther fans will also be able to listen to this year's games everywhere they go, as Matt Menzl calls all the action on the Black & Gold Network. Menzl will be courtside for all 29 regular season contests, as well as all postseason action. The Black & Gold Network is streaming live online and can be accessed at MKEPanthers.com.
 
BLACK & GOLD ON DEMAND
Panther fans can also re-live all of the action by listening to archived games on the Black & Gold Radio Network. All games are chronicled at mixlr.com/milwaukee-panthers/showreel where fans can re-live Matt Menzl's broadcast in its entirety.