MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team hits the road for four in a row beginning with a weekend in Ohio to face Cleveland State and Youngstown State. The Panthers will open with the Vikings on Friday, January 24 before an afternoon bout against the Penguins on Sunday, January 26.
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
After falling to Bowling Green in its opener, Cleveland State rattled off 11 consecutive wins and currently sit 14-4 overall. The Vikings have won three of their last four including most recently, a split in Michigan. CSU dropped a 70-59 contest at Detroit Mercy before bouncing back with a 79-58 win at Oakland.
 
Second year head coach Chris Kielsmeier boasts one of the most potent offenses in the Horizon League, averaging 70.8 points per game. The Vikings led by Mariah Miller, the top scorer in the conference at 19.4 points per contest while Mariah White (13.7) and Savanna Crockett (11.3) also average double digits.
 
CSU leads the league with a turnover margin of 4.28, forcing 330 turnovers on the defensive end while committing just 14.1 per game.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Megan Walstad poured in a career-high 27 points, leading Milwaukee to a 78-60 victory at the Wolstein Center. The Panthers shot 51.7 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from long range in the win.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has won nine straight matchups against Cleveland State, improving its all-time record to 33-23 against the Vikings. The last CSU victory over MKE was January 29, 2015. In Ohio, Cleveland State holds a 14-12 advantage.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Following Friday's School Day game at Cleveland State, Milwaukee will wrap up the Ohio road trip at Youngstown State on Sunday, January 26. The Panthers will then hit the road against Northern Kentucky and Wright State the following weekend.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee couldn't keep up with IUPUI on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 75-52 decision at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers won the rebounding battle against one of the best rebounding teams in the Horizon League but shot just 23.1 percent from beyond the arc in the loss.
 
OWNING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Milwaukee has recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in five straight games, averaging 12.6 per game during that stretch. The Panthers have turned those boards into 51 second chance points over the five games.
 
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 4-2. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers are 2-10 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent.
 
A HELPING HAND
McKaela Schmelzer has dished out at least three assists in six of the last seven games, averaging 3.4 assists during that stretch. Despite missing the first three games of the regular season due to helping the women's soccer team reach the NCAA Tournament, Schmelzer leads the team with 41 total assists this season. The redshirt junior also ranks fifth in the Horizon League with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.1.
 
CERA VS. CSU
In the two games last year against the Vikings, Bre Cera stuffed the stat sheet. The redshirt junior averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 assists while shooting 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the floor against Cleveland State in 2018-19.
 
PRODUCING IN THE PAINT
On January 4 at Green Bay, Milwaukee was held to two points in the paint. Since that game, the Panthers have had at least 28 points in the paint in four straight games, averaging 29.0 per game. Over the last four contests, 46.8 percent of the Panthers' points have been in the paint.
 
BANKING ON BISPING
Brandi Bisping has been a constant for Milwaukee the last four games, averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. The junior is on her way to posting a career-best year, leading the team with 8.9 points per game and ranking second with 5.7 boards per contest. Bisping leads the Horizon League and ranks 14th in the nation with a free throw percentage of 88.1 (52-for-59). Additionally, Bisping has already set new season-highs for assists (22) and steals (17).
 
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 6.1 and 8.9 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 441 points, an average of 24.5 per game.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Over the last six games, Milwaukee is 52-for-71 (73.2 percent) from the free throw line, which would put them third in the Horizon League. The Panthers are shooting 71.6 percent from the line this season, nearly 50 points better than last year's mark of 66.8 percent.
 
THREE POINT THREAT
Sydney Levy leads the team with 40 three-pointers which ranks fourth in the Horizon League. Levy is shooting 33.6 percent from beyond the arc and has at least one three-pointer in 17 of the 18 games this season including five games with at least three triples. For the season, 80.0 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 nine games. Since December 14, MKE is shooting just 14.5 percent (8-for-55) from three-point range in the final period. In those same nine games, the Panthers are 48-for-153 (31.4 percent) from deep in the first three quarters combined. Milwaukee is 3-5 during that stretch with wins over Wright State, Detroit Mercy, and UIC.
 
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
The Panthers closed their non-conference schedule on December 21 and what their record doesn't show is the strength of that schedule. As of January 21, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have an 110-80 overall record. Seven of the 11 opponents have a winning record and nine of those schools have won at least nine games so far this year.
 
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.