MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team takes on Dayton, Ohio looking for the series sweep of Wright State. Milwaukee enters the final month of the regular season with a full slate of home games on the schedule, hosting five of its final seven games at the Klotsche Center.
 
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
After dropping the Horizon League season opener to Milwaukee, Wright State won seven of nine games and currently sit in a tie for second place at 7-3. Most recently, the Raiders dropped a 68-59 decision to Green Bay on Thursday.
 
Wright State boasts one of the most proficient offenses in the league, ranking in the top three in points per game (68.9), field goal percentage (40.4), and three-point percentage (31.8). Additionally, the Raiders lead the conference with an average of 44.9 rebounds per game, pulling down nearly 17 more than the opposition on average.
 
Angel Baker provides a dynamic offensive piece for WSU, averaging 16.9 points per game, which ranks second in the Horizon League. The sophomore is shooting 40.8 percent from long range and also leads the team with 76 total assists.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Sydney Levy and Alyssa Fischer combined for 33 points and nine three-pointers to knock off the preseason favorite in the Horizon League opener. The Panthers' defense stepped up, holding Wright State with just one field goal for a 14-minute stretch in the third and fourth quarters.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wright State holds a slight 31-28 edge including winning five of the last seven contests. In Ohio, the Raiders are 18-11 against Milwaukee. The Panthers last victory over Wright State in Ohio was an 82-60 triumph on January 21, 2016.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Following Saturday's road trip, Milwaukee returns home to the Klotsche Center where it hosts five of its final seven games. The Panthers have just one final road weekend remaining, taking on IUPUI and UIC on February 21-23.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers had a hard time finding a rhythm offensively in the second half on Thursday night, scoring just 15 points after the break in a 60-37 loss to Northern Kentucky. The Panthers shot 16 percent (4-for-25) in the final 20 minutes at the BB&T Arena.
 
RECORD WATCH
Redshirt Alyssa Fischer is closing in on the all-time games played record at Milwaukee. Fischer has played in 124 total games in her career which currently ranks third all-time. Jenny Lindner (2014-18) holds the record, appearing in 128 career games.
 
500 CLUB
With 105 rebounds this year, Lizzie Odegard joined the 500-rebound club for Milwaukee. The redshirt senior became the 26th Panthers player to reach the milestone. Odegard currently leads the Panthers this season with an average of 6.5 rebounds per game.
 
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 six of seven games, averaging 25.4 per game. Over the last six contests, 43.6 percent of the Panthers' points have been in the paint.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Over the last eight games, Milwaukee is 86-116 (74.1 percent) from the free throw line, which would put them second in the Horizon League in conference play. Milwaukee is shooting 72.2 percent from the stripe this season, over 50 points better than last year's mark of 66.8 percent.
 
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 7-3 record this year. When MKE scores less than 60, the Panthers are 0-11.
 
41: When Milwaukee pulls in at least 41 rebounds, the Panthers are 5-3. MKE's only wins outside of that was when they recorded 28 rebounds in win over Wright State and 38 rebounds in a win at YSU.
 
40: When shooting at least 40 percent this season, Milwaukee is 5-2. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers are 2-10 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent.
 
LEVY OFF THE BENCH
Sydney Levy has been big off the bench for Milwaukee this year. In nine games as a reserve, Levy is averaging 8.4 points per game while hitting 45.5 percent (20-for-44) of her three-point attempts. In the win at Youngstown State, Levy finished +24 with five points, four rebounds, and three assists.
 
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Milwaukee has outrebounded its opponent six of the last eight games, recording a positive margin of 5.4 during that stretch. The Panthers currently rank fourth in the Horizon League with a rebounding margin of 2.0. Milwaukee has four games with a positive rebounding margin of more than 10, earning victories in each.
 
BANKING ON BISPING
Brandi Bisping is on her way to posting a career-best year, leading the team with 8.7 points per game and ranking second with 5.7 boards per contest. In the win over Youngstown State, Bisping finished 9-for-10 from the free throw line, matching the best output from a Panther this year. Bisping leads the Horizon League and ranks 13th in the nation with a free throw percentage of 88.4 (61-for-69). Additionally, Bisping has already set new season-highs for assists (23) and steals (18).
 
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 8.7 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 509 points, an average of 24.2 per game.           
 
FOURTH QUARTER STRUGGLES
The Panthers have continued to struggle from long range in the last 12 games. Since December 14, MKE is shooting just 13.4 percent (9-for-67) from three-point range in the final period. In those same 11 games, the Panthers are 59-for-192 (30.7 percent) from deep in the first three quarters combined. Milwaukee is 4-8 during that stretch with wins over Wright State, Detroit Mercy, UIC, and YSU.
 
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 28, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have an 123-92 overall record. Seven of the 11 opponents have a winning record and eight of those schools have won at least 10 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.
 
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.