MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team picked up their first road victory of the season, a 63-48 triumph over Detroit Mercy on Thursday and now look to carry that success into Saturday's game at Oakland. Milwaukee swept the season series a year ago, dominating the two matchups against the Golden Grizzlies. A live video stream of Saturday's contest will be carried on ESPN3 with live audio and live stats links on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland evened its Horizon League record to 2-2 after taking down Green Bay 93-88 on its home court on Thursday night. Kahlaijah Dean (27), Jalisha Terry (25), and Autumn Kissman (19) combined to score 71 points as the Golden Grizzlies connected on 40.3 percent of their shots from the floor and 40.9 percent of their three-point attempts.
 
Terry and Dean lead the team in scoring this season, averaging 11.7 and 10.4 points, respectively. With 22 triples on 32.8 percent shooting, Terry provides the biggest three-point threat for Oakland. As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second in the Horizon League in free throw percentage (75.3 percent), led by Terry who ranks 19th in the nation at 88.6 percent. Oakland also excels in forcing turnovers, ranking second in the league with 17.4 per contest.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee dominated the Golden Grizzlies at the Klotsche Center, earning an 83-53 victory on Senior Day on February 23, 2019. Four players finished with at least 10 points for the Panthers led by Akalyah Hayes' 23 points. Sydney Levy (14), Jamie Reit (12), and Lizzie Odegard (10) also reached double digits.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee holds a 9-6 all-time edge over Oakland after winning four of the last five contests. The first meeting came back in 2004 when Oakland was not a part of the Horizon League. The Panthers came away with a 69-64 victory that day. In Rochester, Milwaukee is 4-3 against the Golden Grizzlies.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers return home to host UIC on January 17 at 11:00 am for the annual School Day game, sponsored by Prairie Farms. Milwaukee will then take on IUPUI that Sunday, January 19 for Pride Day.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee used an eight-point run to take a 18-10 lead in the first period and never looked back, downing Detroit Mercy 63-48 at Calihan Hall. The Panthers held the Titans to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 13.6 percent from beyond the arc to earn their first road victory.
 
DOMINATING DOWN LOW
The last two games, Milwaukee has handled the rebounding battle. The Panthers plus-29 on the boards in 2020 after recording a season-best 51 rebounds against Detroit Mercy. Emma Wittmershaus led the Panthers on Thursday, pulling in a career-high 14 boards. Since the turn of the new year, three different players have reached double digit rebounds. Last Saturday's game against Green Bay marked the first time in 64 games (December 30, 2017) that Milwaukee had two players reach double digit rebounds (Bisping-16, Odegard-11).
 
THE MAGIC NUMBER
So far this season, 60 seems to be the magic number for Milwaukee. When holding an opponent to less than 60 points, the Panthers are 3-0. When Milwaukee scores at least 60 points, the team holds a 5-2 record this year. When they score less than 60, Milwaukee is 0-8.
 
DIFFERENTIATING DUO
Lizzie Odegard and Brandi Bisping have contributed all over the court during Horizon League play this year. Through four games, Odegard is averaging 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists while Bisping holds a line of 7.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while knocking down 11 of her 13 free throw attempts.
 
BACK IN THE MIX
Jamie Reit put together another solid performance for Milwaukee on Thursday. The senior knocked down both three-point attempts, scoring eight points while adding three assists and two steals. Reit is 5-for-9 from long range the last two games. Against Detroit Mercy, Reit led Milwaukee with a plus/minus of +16.When Reit scores at least eight points this year, the Panthers are 3-1.
 
A BALANCED ATTACK
Milwaukee has had a few individual performances that stood out among the rest but for the most part, the Panthers bring a balanced attack.
 
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz has 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game and six players averaging between 5.0 and 8.5 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 374 points, an average of 24.9 per game.
 
LIGHT FROM THE LINE
Last Saturday against Green Bay, the two teams combined for just 22 fouls and 12 free throw attempts, both season lows and the least since November 20, 2018 when the Panthers faced off against Fresno State. That game also featured just 12 free throw attempts.
 
A HELPING HAND
Despite missing the first three games of the regular season due to helping the women's soccer team reach the NCAA Tournament, McKaela Schmelzer leads the team with 30 assists this season. Since the beginning of December, Schmelzer is averaging 2.8 assists per game. Against Green Bay, the junior dished out a season-high five assists and added nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range.
FOURTH QUARTER STRUGGLES
The Panthers have been right in it the last five games, but the shots haven't been falling the fourth quarter. Over the last six games, MKE is shooting just 30.8 percent (28-for-91) from the field and 14.9 percent (7-for-47) from three-point range in the final period. Milwaukee is 2-4 during that stretch with wins over Wright State and Green Bay.
 
HITTING FROM DEEP
The Panthers knocked down 10 three-pointers last Saturday, the third time reaching double digit triples this year. Five different players hit from long range against Green Bay led by McKaela Schmelzer and Jamie Reit, who hit three apiece.
 
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.