MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee women's basketball team heads to Chicago its final regular season road game. The Panthers take on UIC, looking for the season sweep against the Flames. Milwaukee sits in sixth place in the Horizon League standings with three games to play.
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC earned a 59-53 victory over Youngstown State on January 30 but has since dropped six in a row and sits at 3-24 overall and 2-14 in Horizon League play.
 
The Flames have struggled on the offensive end, averaging just 49.3 points per game which ranks 347 of 348 total teams in NCAA Division I. Junior forward Jada Nneji leads with 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
UIC also ranks 342nd or worst in rebounding margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage.
 
The Flames have excelled defending the three, ranking 79th in the country, holding opponents to 29.2 percent.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Panthers picked up its sixth straight home School Day win, topping UIC 71-55 on January 17. Milwaukee got 15 points from Lizzie Odegard and 10 from Bre Cera. UIC stayed close for a majority of the game with one of its better offensive outings, shooting 45.8 percent, but the Panthers scored 22 points off of Flames turnovers in the win.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers hold a 36-21 all-time advantage over UIC after winning nine straight over the Flames. Milwaukee has held UIC to under 60 points in eight of the last nine contests.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Following Sunday's game, Milwaukee will return home for one final weekend before the Horizon League Tournament. The Panthers currently sit in sixth place and will host a first-round contest if they hold position. IUPUI clinched the regular season title on Friday and are the only one to finalize seed.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers rallied back from a 20-point deficit but came up just short, falling to league-leading IUPUI 60-53 on Friday night. The Panthers scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter and pulled it as close as two points, but the Jaguars hit free throws down the stretch to hang on.
 
REDSHIRT RECORD
After logging minutes against IUPUI, redshirt senior Alyssa Fischer set a new Milwaukee record for most games played by a Panther in NCAA Division I. Fischer topped Jenny Lindner (2014-18) for all-time games played.
 
ODEGARD ON THE GLASS
Senior Lizzie Odegard pulled in a team-best 10 rebounds on Friday and is averaging 6.0 boards in Horizon League play. As a team, Milwaukee has outrebounded its opponent in 10 of the last 13 games, recording a positive margin of 5.5 during that stretch. Over the last five games, MKE holds a positive rebounding margin of 7.6. The Panthers are currently fifth in the Horizon League with a rebounding margin of 4.0. Milwaukee has six games with a positive rebounding margin of more than 10, earning victories in each.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Thanks to two impressive outings last week, Brandi Bisping earned her first-career Horizon League Player of the Week award. The junior averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in a pair of victories. Bisping shot 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the floor, 60 percent (3-for-5) from three-point range and was a perfect 12-for-12 at the free throw line in the weekend sweep. The award is her first and also the first for a Panther since December 23, 2018 when Lizzie Odegard earned the honor. Bisping was also named Horizon League Player of the Week by the College Sports Madness website.
 
POUR ON THE POINTS
The Panthers dominated in their latest victory, earning a 76-51 win over Detroit Mercy. The 25-point victory is the largest margin since Milwaukee topped Oakland 83-53 on February 23, 2019, a span of 29 games.
 
THE WINNING NUMBERS
Prior to falling to league-leading IUPUI, the Panthers recorded a four game winning streak, the longest streak since January 10-20 of last season. During that four-game stretch, Milwaukee put up some impressive numbers.

• 47.9 FG%
• 45.9 3PT%
• 86 FT%
• 73.0 PPG
• 39.5 RPG (+10 margin)
• 16.25 APG

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 are 4-1 in their last five games with three left to play.
 
THRIVING FROM THREE
Much of Milwaukee's recent success has been in part due to its three-point shooting. Over the last five games, MKE is 44-for-104 (42.3 percent) from downtown, hitting at least 11 triples in three of the five contests. In Milwaukee's 11 victories this year, the Panthers are shooting 39.7 percent from deep. In the 14 losses, Milwaukee is shooting just 24.6 percent from three-point range.
 
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 five of the last seven games, winning each of those five.
 
REIT ON!
Senior Jamie Reit has found her shot as of late, reaching double digits in five of the last six contests. The senior notched her first career double-double against Green Bay with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Over the last six games, Reit is averaging 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range. When Reit hits at least two three-pointers, the Panthers are 6-2 this season.
 
CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Over the last 11 games, Milwaukee is 128-161 (79.5 percent) from the free throw line, which would put them first in the Horizon League. Milwaukee is shooting 74.4 percent from the stripe this season, over 70 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 5-1. When Milwaukee scores at least 60 points, the team holds a 11-3 record this year. When MKE scores less than 60, the Panthers are 0-12.
 
40: When shooting at least 40 percent this season, Milwaukee is 9-2. 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 9-3.
 
15: When Milwaukee dishes out at least 15 assists, the Panthers are 6-3.
 
10: When the Panthers outrebound their opponents by at least 10, Milwaukee is 6-0 this year.
 
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 6.0 and 9.7 points per game. As a group, the Panthers' bench scored has combined to score 618 points, an average of 23.8 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 22, the non-conference teams that Milwaukee faced have an 150-132 overall record. Seven of the 11 opponents have a winning record and eight of those schools have won at least 101games 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.