MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team looks to bounce back at Youngstown State on Sunday after dropping its second straight contest on Friday morning. The Panthers hold an all-time 28-17 advantage over Youngstown State.
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State swept its Michigan road trip last weekend, but most recently fell to Green Bay 70-63 in two overtimes on Friday evening to drop to 4-4 in Horizon League play.
 
Despite falling on Friday, the Penguins have had success at the Beeghly Center, going 23-3 at home dating back to the start of the 2018-19 season. Two of those three losses were in overtime.
 
Youngstown State has changed their game this season after multiple injuries to the post position. The Penguins have had three major injuries and now run a five-guard offense led by Chelsea Olson, who leads the team in points, rebounds, and assists.
 
The Penguins have been nearly automatic from the line, leading the league and ranking seventh in the country with a free throw percentage of 78.5.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Panthers defense stood tall and held Youngstown to 36 percent shooting, but fell 64-58 at the Beeghly Center in the Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinals. Milwaukee totaled nine blocks against the Penguins, breaking the Horizon League record for most in a season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers own the all-time advantage 28-17, but Youngstown has won four of the last matchups.  Milwaukee has faced Youngstown State three times in each of the last two seasons thanks to back-to-back postseason battles with the Penguins.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
After wrapping up the Ohio roadtrip, the Panthers will be on the road again at Northern Kentucky and Wright State the following weekend. Milwaukee will then host five of its final seven games at the Klotsche Center.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee clamped down on defense and held one of the top offensive teams in the Horizon League to 36.1 percent shooting, but fell 58-49 to Cleveland State at the Wolstein Center on Friday morning. The Panthers began to click in the fourth quarter but struggled to break through early on in the loss.
 
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Milwaukee has outrebounded its opponent five of the last six games, recording a positive margin of 7.3 during that stretch. The Panthers currently rank third in the Horizon League with a rebounding margin of 2.3. Milwaukee has four games with a positive rebounding margin of more than 10, earning victories in each.
 
THREE-POINT TRENDS
After averaging 24.3 three-point attempts per game over the first six Horizon League games, Milwaukee has attempted just 13 triples each of the last two games. The Panthers are shooting just 27.9 percent from long range in league play including 19.2 percent the last two contests.
 
MAGIC NUMBERS
60: When holding an opponent to less than 60 points, the Panthers are 4-1. 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 0-10.
 
41: When Milwaukee pulls in at least 41 rebounds, the Panthers are 5-3. 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 seven of the last eight 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 44 total assists this season. The redshirt junior also ranks fourth in the Horizon League with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.1.
 
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 24 points in the paint in five straight games, averaging 28.0 per game. Over the last five contests, 47.1 percent of the Panthers' points have been in the paint.
 
BANKING ON BISPING
Brandi Bisping has been a constant for Milwaukee the last five games, averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds while 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 8.7 points per game and ranking second with 5.8 boards per contest. Bisping leads the Horizon League and ranks 12th 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 6.0 and 8.7 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 465 points, an average of 24.5 per game.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Over the last six games, Milwaukee is 57-for-78 (73.1 percent) from the free throw line, which would put them fourth 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 32.5 percent from beyond the arc and has at least one three-pointer in 17 of the 19 games this season including five games with at least three triples. For the season, 78.8 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 10 games. Since December 14, MKE is shooting just 13.8 percent (8-for-58) from three-point range in the final period. In those same 10 games, the Panthers are 50-for-163 (30.6 percent) from deep in the first three quarters combined. Milwaukee is 3-7 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 24, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have an 115-84 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.