MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee women's basketball team earned a victory over Wright State on Saturday, its second Horizon League opening win in the last three years. The Panthers improved to 29-14 on their home court against Horizon League opponents in the last five years.
 
Milwaukee looks to open the Horizon League season 2-0 for the first time since 2006-07 when they welcome Northern Kentucky on Monday evening.
 
SCOUTING THE NORSE
After dropping four in a row to start the year, Northern Kentucky wrapped up the non-conference schedule winning six of seven games. The only loss for the Norse coming at the hands of No. 2 Louisville.
 
Northern Kentucky opened its Horizon League schedule with a loss, falling to Green Bay 65-44. The Norse shot just 25 percent in the opener including a 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) performance from three-point range.
 
NKU is young with just one senior on the squad, but it has no shortage of experience, returning 91 percent of its scoring from last season including all five starters. Led by a guard combo of Molly Glick (14.8 ppg) and Ally Niece (12.1 ppg), the Norse average almost 61 points per game, shooting 36.7 percent from the floor.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee dominated in the last meeting, holding Northern Kentucky to just 10 made field goals as head coach Kyle Rechlicz earned her 100th career victory. The Panthers limited NKU to 21.3 percent shooting in the 59-38 win. Megan Walstad led MKE with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers lead the all-time series 5-3 over the Norse but the two have split the season series the last three years. At the Klotsche Center, Milwaukee is 3-1 against the Norse, their only loss being a three-point defeat on February 3, 2018.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sydney Levy and Alyssa Fischer combined for 33 points and nine three-pointers to help Milwaukee top Wright State 60-58 on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers locked down defense, built a double digit fourth quarter lead, and fought off a Raiders' comeback to start Horizon League play with a victory.
 
TAKING DOWN THE CHAMPS
Saturday's win was important to Milwaukee as they snapped a three-game skid, but it also sent a message to the league. Defending Horizon League Champion Wright State was predicted to once again be a force, earning the top spot in the preseason poll.
 
With the win over the Raiders, Milwaukee improved to 29-14 against Horizon League opponents on its home court in the last five years.
 
LIGHT IT UP, LEVY!
Sydney Levy was back on track on Saturday, cashing in six three-pointers on her way to a team-high 20 points. The sophomore has at least one three-pointer in 11 of the 12 games this year and now has two games this year with at least six triples.
 
Levy has scored in double digits in four of the last five games and leads the team with 8.9 points per game and his hitting 38.2 percent (29-for-76) of her shots from long range.
 
FISCH FEELIN' IT
Alyssa Fischer made the most of her 12 minutes of action on Saturday, finishing 5-for-10 from floor for a season-high 13 points. The senior knocked down three triples and finished with a plus/minus of 14, the highest on the team. Fischer came out strong in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of the team's first nine points.
 
SPARKS OFF THE BENCH
Once again, head coach Kyle Rechlicz' depth showed as the bench provided a huge spark. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored 19 points, bringing the season total to 320 bench points, 26.7 per game.
 
Alyssa Moore made her presence known against Wright State, totaling four points, four assists, two rebounds, and three steals in 12 minutes. Emma Wittmershaus provided strong defense in the post, limiting the Raiders' interior.
 
BOUNCE BACK
After a tough offensive night against North Dakota last time out, the Panthers were much more efficient on the offensive end against Wright State. Milwaukee hit 43.8 percent of its shots, snapping a six-game stretch of shooting less than 40 percent. The Panthers also hit nine triples, converting 34.6 percent of their attempts, their best output since shooting 40 percent from deep against Marquette on December 8.
 
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.
 
ODEGARD ALL OVER
Lizzie Odegard once again contributed all over the floor. The senior led with six rebounds and added three points and three assists. Odegard now has 20 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists over the last three games.
 
FREE THROW STRUGGLES
The Panthers had an opportunity to relieve some pressure down the stretch but struggled to convert from the line. Milwaukee finished 9-for-17 from the charity stripe, their second worst performance of the season. Milwaukee has been up and down at the line this year with four performances of 60 percent or lower and seven games hitting at least 75 percent of its attempts.
 
SOMETHING TO PROVE
Milwaukee was predicted to finish fifth in this year's Horizon League preseason poll. The Panthers earned 57 total poll points and were picked to come in behind Green Bay, Wright State, IUPUI, and Youngstown State. In the 2018-19 preseason poll, Milwaukee was also chosen to finish fifth in the Horizon League.
 
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.