MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Following a three-game road trip, the Panthers return to the Klotsche Center for a pair of Horizon League contests. Milwaukee opens the homestand by hosting UIC in the 7th annual School Day Game on Friday, January 17 at 11:00 am. This year's School Day Game is presented by Prairie Farms.
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC currently sits at 2-15 overall and 1-5 in the Horizon League with an overtime victory over Oakland on January 4. The Flames scored 70 points in the win, the second most this season. Both of UIC's victories are behind at least 70 points on the offensive end.
 
Second-year head coach Tasha Pointer has a young squad with eight newcomers this season including six freshmen.
 
Jada Nneji has put together a solid season so far for the Flames, leading the team with 11.4 points per game. Nneji also averages 2.1 blocks per contest, which tops the Horizon League.
 
UIC has struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 56.3 percent which ranks 347th of 348 teams in NCAA Division I.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee held off UIC in a defensive battle 48-37 at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Panthers came out strong, outscoring the Flames 36-16 in the first half. Milwaukee held UIC to just 28 percent shooting from the floor in the win. Jamie Reit (15 points) and Megan Walstad (10 points) both reached double digits for the Panthers.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has won eight straight against UIC to improve to 35-21 all-time. The Panthers have dominated the Flames on their home court, going 21-7 overall. UIC has not beat Milwaukee at the Klotsche Center since 2014.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers host IUPUI on Sunday, January 19 for Pride Day before hitting the road for two straight conference trips. Milwaukee heads to Ohio on January 24-26 before taking on NKU and WSU the following weekend.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers came out strong on Saturday, shooting 57.1 percent in the first quarter, but couldn't keep up the pace as they fell 78-62 to Oakland University. Milwaukee hit just one of its final 15 three-point attempts at the Golden Grizzlies' O'Rena.
 
BENCH SPARKS
This past weekend, a pair of individuals stood out off the bench. In a win over Detroit Mercy, Emma Wittmershaus came in and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in 20 minutes of action while adding four points and three assists. At Oakland Alyssa Moore had the best plus/minus for Milwaukee at +3 as she totaled three points, two rebounds, and assist, and a steal in 13 minutes of action.
 
MAGIC NUMBERS
60: 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 5-3 record this year. When MKE scores less than 60, the Panthers are 0-8.
 
41: When Milwaukee pulls in at least 40 rebounds, the Panthers are 4-12 MKE's only win outside of that was when they recorded 28 rebounds in a 60-58 win over Wright State on December 28.
 
40: When shooting at least 40 percent this season, Milwaukee is 3-1. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers are 1-9 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent.
 
POSITIVE RATIO
Against Oakland, Milwaukee turned in a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the fifth time this season. The Panthers turned the ball over just two times in the second half and 12 times overall, the second lowest this year.
 
PERIMETER DEFENSE
The Panthers have locked down the arc in league play, holding opponents to 23.1 percent from three-point range over the last five games. Opponents are just 25-for-108 from long range against Milwaukee during that stretch. Outside of Northern Kentucky's performance of 8-for-22 (36.4 percent), opponents are 17-for-86 (19.8 percent) from deep.
 
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 6.3 and 8.9 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 389 points, an average of 24.3 per game.
 
OWNING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Milwaukee has recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in three straight games, averaging 13 per game during that stretch. The Panthers have turned that into 33 second chance points over the three games.
 
BANKING ON BISPING
Brandi Bisping is on her way to posting a career-best year, leading the team with 8.9 points per game and ranking second with 5.6 boards per contest. Bisping has back-to-back double-digit scoring games and six games this year with at least 10 points. The junior is shooting 50 percent from the floor and leads the Horizon League with a free throw percentage of 87.7 (50-for-57). That also puts her 22nd in the nation. Of the 21 players ahead of Bisping in free throw percentage, only eight have made more attempts. Additionally, Bisping has already set new season-highs for assists (21) and steals (11).
 
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 33 assists this season. Since the beginning of December, Schmelzer is averaging 2.8 assists per game. The junior has had at least three assists in eight games this year. 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.
 
THREE POINT THREAT
Sydney Levy knocked down six more triples this past weekend, bringing her season total to 37 which leads the team and ranks third in the Horizon League. Levy is shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and has at least one three-pointer in 15 of the 16 games this season. For the season, 80.4 percent of Levy's shots are from three-point range.
 
FOURTH QUARTER STRUGGLES
The Panthers have been right in it the last seven games, but the shots haven't been falling the fourth quarter. Over the last seven games, MKE is shooting just 31.5 percent (34-for-108) from the field and 15.4 percent (8-for-52) from three-point range in the final period. Milwaukee is 2-5during that stretch with wins over Wright State and Detroit Mercy.
 
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.