MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team aims for their fourth straight victory on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Detroit Mercy to the Klostche Center. Milwaukee has shot at least 42 percent in four of the last five contests, earning victories in all four.
 
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy fell to Green Bay on Friday night to drop to 3-21 overall and 3-10 in Horizon League play. Two of the Titans league victories are over UIC.
 
The Titans have struggled on the offensive end, averaging just 57.6 points per game which ranks nine in league play. Freshman Sylare Starks leads the team with 10.3 points per game, starting all 24 contests.
 
Defensively, Detroit Mercy allows 68.2 points per game, which ranks seventh in the Horizon League. Opponents shoot over 40 percent against the Titans, but Detroit Mercy has locked down the arc, allowing the opposition to hit just 27.9 percent of their three-point attempts.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Panthers earned their first road win of the season, downing Detroit Mercy 63-48 on January 9. Milwaukee held the Titans to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 13.6 percent from beyond the arc in the win. Lizzie Odegard and Brandi Bisping each reached double digits, scoring 14 points and 13 points, respectively.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee holds a slight 30-28 all-time advantage over Detroit Mercy thanks to recent success. The Panthers have won five straight over the Titans by an average of 22.4 points. MKE is also 17-12 at home against Detroit Mercy.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Following Sunday's game, Milwaukee hits the road for the final time in the regular season. The Panthers will take on IUPUI on February 21 and UIC on February 23 before returning to the Klotsche Center for their final two games before tournament action.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Brandi Bisping scored a career-high 28 points including 18 in the first half as the Panthers hung on to top Oakland 74-67 on Pink Night, sponsored by the College of Nursing. The Panthers finished 12-for-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to ice Milwaukee's third straight victory.
 
LATE SEASON SUCCESS
The Panthers are no strangers to a late run. With eight games remaining on the schedule a season ago, Milwaukee finished 5-3 to improve its standing in the Horizon League. The Panthers have now won three in a row to start the final stretch of eight games here in 2020. The last time Milwaukee won four in a row was last season from January 10-20.
 
ON FIRE FROM THE FLOOR
After a long stretch of shooting less than 40 percent (14 games this year), Milwaukee has found some rhythm on the offensive end as of late. The Panthers have hit at least 42 percent of their shots from the floor in four of the last five games, winning each of those four. In fact, Milwaukee has knocked down 50 percent of its shots in two of the last three games.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Over the last nine games, Milwaukee is 112-142 (78.9 percent) from the free throw line, which would put them first in the Horizon League in conference play. Milwaukee is shooting 73.9 percent from the stripe this season, over 60 points better than last year's mark of 66.8 percent.
 
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Milwaukee's rebounding dominance continued on Friday. The Panthers have outrebounded their opponent in nine of the last 11 games, recording a positive margin of 6.6 during that stretch. Over the last three games, MKE holds a positive rebounding margin of 10.0. The Panthers are currently fifth in the Horizon League with a rebounding margin of 4.1. Milwaukee has four games with a positive rebounding margin of more than 10, earning victories in each.
 
BISPING BUCKETS
Brandi Bisping was dominant on Friday, finishing with a career-high 28 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The junior was 2-for-2 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Bisping added 10 rebounds for her second double-double this season. She is on her way to posting a career-best year, leading the team with 9.6 points per game and ranking second with 5.8 boards per contest. Bisping leads the Horizon League and ranks 7th in the nation with a free throw percentage of 90.2 (74-for-82). She is 13-for-13 from the line in her last three games. Additionally, Bisping has already set new season-highs for assists (31) and steals (21).
 
THRIVING FROM THREE
Much of Milwaukee's recent success has been in part due to its three-point shooting. During the Panthers' current three-game winning streak, MKE is 27-for-60 (45.0 percent) from downtown. In Milwaukee's 10 victories this year, the Panthers are shooting 38.7 percent from deep. In the 14 losses, Milwaukee is shooting just 24.5 percent from three-point range.
 
REIT ON!
Senior Jamie Reit has found her shot as of late, reaching double digits in four straight contests. The senior notched her first career double-double against Green Bay with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Over the last four games, Reit is averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range. When Reit hits at least two three-pointers, the Panthers are 5-1 this season.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Against Green Bay, Milwaukee had five players reach double figures for the first time this season. The last time the Panthers had five score in double digits was a 72-60 victory over Green Bay on February 17, 2017. Milwaukee's entire starting five scored at least 10 points against the Phoenix on that date.
 
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 9-3 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 6-3. MKE's wins outside of that are when they have grabbed 40, 38, and 28 rebounds.
 
40: When shooting at least 40 percent this season, Milwaukee is 8-2. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers are 4-10 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent.
 
34: When the Panthers hit at least 34 percent of their three-point attempts, Milwaukee is 8-3.
 
15: When Milwaukee dishes out at least 15 assists, the Panthers are 5-3.
 
RECORD WATCH
Redshirt Alyssa Fischer is closing in on the all-time games played record at Milwaukee. Fischer has played in 127 total games in her career which currently second all-time. Jenny Lindner (2014-18) holds the record, appearing in 128 career games.
 
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 nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per game and six players averaging between 6.1 and 9.6 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 558 points, an average of 23.3 per game.      
 
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 February 14, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have an 143-118 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.
 
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.