MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team finished 15-16 last year but finished the year as one of the hottest teams, winning eight of their last 10 games. The Panthers have a good mix of experience to go with a solid group of young talent that looks to compete at the top of the Horizon League. Live audio with Matt Menzl on the call along with a link for live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
With no fans permitted at the Klotsche Center through November and December, fans can engage with the Virtual Gameday hub, a page on MKEPanthers.com that houses any and all links fans will need for that gameday experience.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Ball State put together a strong campaign a season ago, winning 21 games before falling to Eastern Michigan by a point in the Mid-America Conference Tournament. The Cardinals were predicted to finish third in the MAC standings this season led by Preseason All-MAC First Teamer Oshlynn Brown. The senior nearly averaged a double-double last year with 13.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Maria Viall dominated with 31 points and 13 rebounds to help the Panthers top Ball State 78-73 in the consolation game of the Moran Realty Classic on November 22, 2003.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has won four in a row over Ball State to improve to 4-1 overall. The two have not met since 2003. The Panthers are averaging 81.8 points per game in the four victories over the Cardinals.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Following Wednesday's opener, the Panthers hit the road for three more non-conference contests. Milwaukee will next take on Bradley University on Saturday, November 28 at 6:00 pm. Horizon League play begins on December 12 at Green Bay.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers battled hard in last season's Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal, but a strong second half propelled Northern Kentucky to a 78-58 win. MKE couldn't keep pace in the second half, shooting just 35.5 percent at BB&T Arena.
 
The Norse were rolling early, as they hit their first four shots of the night and ran out to a 17-9 forcing a Panthers timeout. Rechlicz switched up the defense out of the break and the Panthers rallied, ending the quarter on an 11-2 run to take the lead.
 
Sydney Staver carried the load, finishing the first with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting.
 
Milwaukee carried that momentum early in the second and jumped ahead by five after a pair of Staver free throws and a basket from Bre Cera, but NKU responded with a jumper and free throws of its own.
 
With just under four minutes to play, Jamie Reit and Sydney Levy combined for three consecutive triples, but the Norse responded with a 7-0 run over the final 1:58 to take a one-point advantage into halftime.
 
The Norse rattled off a 15-2 run in the first 4:36 of the fourth to go up 72-48 and essentially seal the deal. The Panthers ended with 10 more points in the final frame, but not enough to overcome the deficit.
 
Milwaukee finished 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) in the second half and had a hard time finding the range, going 2-for-10 from beyond the arc.
 
YEAR 50
Wednesday not only marks this year's season opener but it is also the start of the 50th season of Milwaukee women's basketball. Kyle Rechlicz, in her ninth season, is the seventh coach in program history and third with at least 100 victories. As a program since inception in 1971-72, the Panthers have totaled 13 conference or district championships, two NCAA Tournament appearances, 19 Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famers, nine All-Americans, and much more.
 
A DIFFERENT LOOK
The 2020-21 campaign will be anything but normal as the Horizon League released a 20-game schedule for each team with schools playing one league opponent twice each week with games taking place on consecutive days at the same location. Milwaukee has just four non-conference bouts on its schedule, all wrapping up by December 6. The season opener on Wednesday, November 25 is the latest the Panthers have opened the year since 1994-95 when Milwaukee also began its season on November 25.
 
SOMETHING TO PROVE
Milwaukee was predicted to finish seventh of 12 in the 2020-21 Horizon League Preseason Poll with 76 poll points. Defending champion IUPUI earned all 12 first place votes as the Jaguars were predicted to repeat.
 
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz has plenty of new faces for the 2020-21 campaign as she added five true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and a senior transfer. Angie Cera, sister of senior Bre, comes to Milwaukee from Mukwanago she started all four years, averaging 12.0 points per game to earn a pair of First Team All-Conference honors. Jada Donaldson stuffed the stat sheet at Beaver Dam with 7.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.1 steals per game as a junior, helping her team win back-to-back State Championships. Kalvina Eubanks stood out for Walther Christian Academy, earning a First Team All-State honor after helping the Broncos to an undefeated conference season. Macy McGlone brings some size to the Panthers and after averaging 16.3 points and 9.8 rebounds as a junior, she earned First Team All-Conference and First Team All-State honors. At Johnston High School in Iowa, Kendall Nead collected an All-Conference and All-Region nod after a successful junior season, averaging 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Lior Halevi was a member of the Israel Women National Team in 2018 and averaged 16.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in 12 games at the U20 European Championship.
 
SENSATIONAL SENIORS
Milwaukee has five seniors on its roster for 2020-21 bringing a plethora of experience to the floor. The group has combined to play in 404 career games, each with at least 60 under their belt. Brandi Bisping, McKaela Schmelzer, and Bre Cera were consistent starters for MKE a year ago while Sydney Staver saw nearly 20 minutes a game off the bench. The Panthers fifth senior, Miquela Santoro, joined Milwaukee after three years at Winthrop where she averaged 29.8 minutes per game.
 
FOR STARTERS
The Panthers hold an 11-19 record in season openers at the NCAA Division I level, dating back to 1990-91. Last season, Milwaukee outscored Parkside 14-7 in overtime to pull out a 84-77 victory behind Jamie Reit's career-high 31 points.
 
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz is 5-3 in season openers at Milwaukee. The Panthers dominated Chicago State 82-58 in Rechlicz's debut contest in 2012-13. Wednesday's opener the second consecutive year in which MKE has kicked off the season at the Klotsche Center.
 
THE HOT HAND
Despite falling in the Horizon League Tournament, the Panthers closed the year on a promising note. Milwaukee won seven of its last eight regular season games and followed with another victory over Oakland in the opening round of the postseason before falling to Northern Kentucky.
 
OUTSTANDING IN THE OPENER
Jamie Reit's career-high 31-point effort in last year's opener wasn't the first time a Panthers player shined in the season's first game. Since 2014-15, Milwaukee has had someone score at least 20 points in the season opener.
 
2014-15: Ashley Green (36 points)
2015-16: Jenny Lindner (25 points)
2016-17: Jenny Lindner (23 points)
2017-18: Steph Kostowicz (26 points)
2018-19: Jamie Reit (21 points)
2019-20: Jamie Reit (31 points)
 
BANKING ON BISPING
Last season, Brandi Bisping earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Third Team. The senior was picked to earn second team honors in 2020-21 and will be an important piece in the Panthers' success this season. A year ago, Bisping averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while leading the league and ranking fourth in the nation with a free throw percentage of 90.8, a school record for a junior.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
After having to sit out last season with an injury, 2018-19 All-Freshman Megan Walstad returns for the 2020-21 campaign. In her freshman season, Walstad averaged a team-best 10.7 points per game to go with 5.0 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per contest. The Apple Valley, Minn. native was ranked nationally all season in shooting percentage, finishing the year with a 54.5 clip overall. Walstad ranks in the top-five in MKE history for a freshman in field goal percentage (.545/2nd), made field goals made (140/3rd), blocks (28/4th), rebounds (151/5th) and starts (27/t-5th).
 
BREAKOUT SEASON
Sydney Staver found her groove last year and put up career-best numbers of 8.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 29 contests. The senior reached double figures in 14 games and led Milwaukee in scoring nine times. On January 26, Staver poured in a career-high 19 points to lead the Panthers to a 74-62 win over Youngstown State while adding six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Panthers excelled at the free throw line a season ago, hitting 74.7 percent of their attempts which ranks fifth all-time in MKE history. Three of the Panthers top five marks all-time are under Rechlicz's leadership (2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20).
 
FLEXIN' IN FEBRUARY
Milwaukee finished 7-1 this past February, it's best record since going 8-0 in February of 2006. The Panthers were especially solid on the offensive end with three players averaging double digits. As a team, Milwaukee put up some solid numbers:

• 44.6 FG%
• 35.5 3PT%
• 81.8 FT%
• 66.4 PPG
• 37.3 RPG (+7.4 margin)
• 14.3 APG
• 7.6 3PT/game

DROPPING FROM DEEP
As a team, Milwaukee hit 200 three-pointers in 2019-20, marking the eighth straight year with at least 200 converted triples. The Panthers will need to find success from other shooters this season, however, as the MKE returners accounted for just 50 of the 200 three-pointers. Sydney Staver leads all returners with 19 buckets from beyond the arc a season ago, hitting 37.3 percent of her attempts.
 
DISHING THE ROCK
For the second straight season, McKaela Schmelzer led the team in assists, dishing out 72 assists. In three seasons, Schmelzer has compiled 281 assists which places her seventh all-time. If the redshirt senior continues her average of 93.7 assists per year, she would move up to fourth all-time. Schmelzer's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.23 ranks her fourth all-time for the black and gold.
 
PANTHERS IN THE PROS
The Panthers have had a number of former players go on to play professionally after their time in the Black & Gold. Currently, Angela Rodriguez (Germany) and Steph Kostowicz (Greece) have taken their talents to the next level. During the summer of 2019, both Rodriguez and Kostowicz were members of the Wisconsin GLO, helping the team capture the 2019 Global Women's Basketball Association Championship after an undefeated season.
 
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Although the Milwaukee Athletic Department announced it will not host spectators for any home men's or women's basketball games in the months of November and December, fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN+. Additional information for road game coverage can be found online.
 
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 calling the action for all 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.