MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Panthers returned to the Klotsche Center for the seventh annual School Day game on Friday and earned a 71-55 victory to improve to 6-1 in the morning matchups. On Sunday afternoon, Milwaukee welcomes Horizon League-leading IUPUI for this year's Pride Game.
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI sits atop the Horizon League with a 6-1 record. The Jaguars dropped their league opener at Youngstown State but have since won six in a row in convincing fashion, knocking off opponents by an average score of 27.8 points.
 
The Jaguars are led by preseason Player of the Year Macee Williams who ranks third in the league in points per game (16.9) and first in rebounds per game (9.5).
 
IUPUI has scored at least 70 points in seven of the last eight contests.
 
Head Coach Austin Parkinson has an experienced starting lineup with four upperclassmen and a redshirt sophomore.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
IUPUI took a 76-55 victory on March 2, 2019 in the Panthers' final regular season home game of last season. Milwaukee had three reach double digits led by Sydney Staver with 15 points. McKaela Schmelzer dished out six assists and added four points.
 
SERIES HISTORY
IUPUI holds an all-time 3-1 record over Milwaukee. The Panthers split the season series in 2017-18 but the Jaguars took both games a year ago. At the Klotsche Center, Milwaukee is 0-2 against IUPUI.
 
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
In front of the fifth largest crowd at the Klotsche Center of 3,485 fans, the Panthers used a strong first half to create separation and down UIC 71-55. The Panthers improved to 6-1 on the annual School Day Game, presented by Prairie Farms.
 
BENCH SPARKS
In just her fifth game back from injury, Sydney Staver provided solid minutes off the bench in the win over UIC. Staver finished +12, scoring nine points and adding four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals in the win. Emma Wittmershaus dominated in her opportunity, going 4-for-4 from the free throw line for eight points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.
 
ARE YOU CERA-IOUS?
Bre Cera had an all-around performance in the win over UIC on Friday. The junior had 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting with four rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Cera finished with a plus/minus of +23, the best on the team.
 
MAGIC NUMBERS
60: When holding an opponent to less than 60 points, the Panthers are 4-0. When Milwaukee scores at least 60 points, the team holds a 6-3 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 5-2. 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 4-1. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers are 2-9 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent.
 
POSITIVE RATIO
Against UIC, Milwaukee turned in a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the sixth time this season. The Panthers matched a season-high with 17 assists in the victory.
 
PERIMETER DEFENSE
The Panthers have locked down the arc in league play, holding opponents to 24.6 percent from three-point range over the last six games which is tied with UIC for the Horizon League lead. Opponents are just 30-for-122 from long range against Milwaukee during that stretch.
 
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 6.4 and 8.9 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 414 points, an average of 24.4 per game.
 
OWNING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Milwaukee has recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in four straight games, averaging 12.8 per game during that stretch. The Panthers have turned that into 42 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 5.5 boards per contest. The junior is shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and leads the Horizon League with a free throw percentage of 87.7 (50-for-57). That also puts her 18th in the nation. Additionally, Bisping has already set new season-highs for assists (21) and steals (14).
 
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 38 assists this season. The junior has had at least three assists in nine games this year. Against UIC, Schmelzer matched a season-high with five assists and finished perfect from the field, going 3-for-3 with nine points.
 
THREE POINT THREAT
Sydney Levy leads the team with 38 three-pointer which ranks third in the Horizon League. Levy is shooting 33.0 percent from beyond the arc and has at least one three-pointer in 16 of the 17 games this season. For the season, 80.4 percent of Levy's shots are from three-point range.
 
FOURTH QUARTER STRUGGLES
The Panthers have continued to struggle from long range in the last eight games. Since December 14, MKE is shooting just 15.8 percent (9-for-57) from three-point range in the final period. Despite the struggles, Milwaukee is 3-5 during that stretch with wins over Wright State, Detroit Mercy, and UIC.
 
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.