MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball looks to build off of a season-opening win at home against Ball State as they head to Peoria, Ill. to face Bradley University. Live audio with Matt Menzl on the call along with a link for live stats for the 6:00 pm matchup can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
With no fans permitted many venues this season including the Klotsche Center through November and December, fans can engage with the Panthers' Virtual Gameday hub, a page on MKEPanthers.com that houses any and all links fans will need for that gameday experience.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Behind a dominating inside presence and solid performance from the free throw line, the Milwaukee women's basketball team claimed a 67-56 victory over Ball State on Wednesday evening. Miquela Santoro led a group of newcomers that made impressive debuts for the Panthers, combining for 30 points and 12 rebounds.
 
"It's a really big win for our program. Ball State is such a quality team, head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "Coming off a season where they won 21 games and finished second in the MAC, they return a lot of players. It was really great for our upperclassmen and show some leadership and really play strong. And some of our newcomers and our underclassmen to get some quality minutes in a big-time game."
 
YEAR 50
November 25 not only marked this year's season opener, but it was 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.
 
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS
With the victory over Ball State on Wednesday, Milwaukee improved to 6-3 in season openers under Kyle Rechlicz's leadership. Additionally, the Panthers move to 12-19 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level, dating back to the 1990-91 season. The Panthers also improved their home winning streak to seven games with the victory over the Cardinals.
 
SIZZLIN' SANTORO
Redshirt senior Miquela Santoro wasted no time fitting in the with the Panthers in her debut as she led the team with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-8 performance at the free throw line. The Winthrop transfer added two rebounds and an assist in 33 minutes as she finished with a plus/minus of plus-10. Santoro was one point of her collegiate career-high of 17 points which she set during the 2018-19 season at Winthrop.
 
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz proved she has full trust her in freshman as four new underclassmen made their debuts on Wednesday. Kendall Nead made a splash for the Panthers, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to finish with 10 points and five rebounds. Nead's 10 points are the most a freshman put up in her debut since Megan Walstad scored 11 in 19 minutes at Indiana in 2018. Angie Cera came and knocked down all four free throw attempts in her 10 minutes of action while Macy McGlone grabbed three rebounds and Jada Donaldson played an important defensive possession in the last minute of the first half.
 
EXPERIENCE DOWN THE STRETCH
Megan Walstad and Brandi Bisping helped the Panthers seal the deal on Wednesday, combining for 20 points and 15 rebounds. Bisping did her damage in the third with eight points and five rebounds while Walstad carried in the final 10 minutes with nine points and eight boards. Each of the five starters played at least seven minutes in the final frame.
 
SHAKING OFF THE COBWEBS
Milwaukee struggled a bit offensively in the first half, converting just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) of its baskets. It turns out the Panthers just needed some warming up as they turned it around after the break to hit 13 of 29 shot attempts (44.8 percent).
 
DOMINATING THE PAINT
The Panthers took care of business down low, outrebounding Ball State 42-29 on Wednesday. The 42 rebounds are Milwaukee's most since February 14, 2020. MKE pulled in 18 offensive rebounds and turned that into 15 second chance points. The 18 offensive rebounds matched the Panthers most from a season ago (December 21, 2019).
 
KNOCKIN' DOWN THE FREE ONES
Last year, the Panthers recorded the program's fifth-best percentage at the free throw line as a team (74.7 percent). MKE carried that success into this season as it hit 22 of 27 attempts at the charity stripe (81.5 percent). The Panthers also reached the 20 free throw mark in last year's season opener, going 20-for-25 from the line in a win over Parkside.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.