MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Horizon League play begins on Thursday for the Milwaukee women's basketball team, who will host Wright State and Northern Kentucky at the Klotsche Center. Thursday marks the earliest league contest in the program's NCAA Division I history with conference play typically not beginning until December. Live audio will be available for the matchup with Matt Menzl on the call along with a link for live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
The Milwaukee Athletic Department recently announced that fans will be allowed at all home events this year. In accordance with current Milwaukee Public Health and CDC recommendations, fans will be required to wear a face covering indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
 
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State opened the season with a pair of losses, dropping its opener to Bradley (84-65) and the most recent game to Toldeo (73-56).
 
First-year head coach Kari Hoffman has a tall task ahead of her, taking the reins after Wright State won the Horizon League title a season ago. Hoffman's roster does have eight returners from last year's title team but need to find a replacement for Angel Baker, who averaged 18.1 points for the Raiders in 2020-21.
 
The Raiders were pegged to place seventh in the Horizon League preseason poll.
 
In two games this season, Destyne Jackson has stepped up with 14.5 points per game on 40 percent shooting. Jada Roberson has added 11 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee and Wright State last met in February with the Raiders earning a 56-49 victory in Fairborn, Ohio. The Panthers held a slight edge at the half but hit just 22.2 percent of their shots after the break and fell by seven.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wright State has held the advantage as of late, winning four of the last six contests for a 33-29 all-time advantage. The Panthers are 15-12 at home against Wright State, winning two of the last three at the Klotsche Center.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee will remain at home for the next two contests as the Panthers host Northern Kentucky on Saturday at 10:30 am followed by Wisconsin the evening before Thanksgiving (11/24). 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee had a tough time getting anything going offensively and could not keep up with 16th-ranked Florida State on Sunday afternoon, falling 79-42.
 
Milwaukee shot just 23.1 percent from the floor while Florida State (2-0) was on fire, finishing 34-for-58 (58.6 percent) from the floor.
 
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Although the Panthers have lost three in a row, Milwaukee has proved they can bounce back. The last time MKE lost more than two games in row, the Panthers responded with four consecutive victories.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Thursday marks the Horizon League opener for the Panthers. In head coach Kyle Rechlicz's tenure, the Panthers are 5-4 in league openers including two straight victories. Last year, Milwaukee opened on the road and took down Green Bay 61-58. In 2019-20, the Panthers welcomed Wright State to the Klotsche Center and handed the Raiders a 60-58 loss.
 
The Panthers have six consecutive winning seasons in the Horizon League including last year's 15-5 record and title of regular season co-champions.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Milwaukee opens a stretch of three straight at the Klotsche Center, where they have had plenty of success through the years. The Panthers are 357-218 all-time at home and have had six straight winning seasons on their home floor.
 
CONTINUING THE TREND
Last year, Milwaukee was phenomenal from the line and set a new NCAA Division I record in free throw percentage with a mark of 83.8 percent. That number knocked off Idaho State's 83.2 percent clip in 2008 and also topped the men's record of 82.2 percent which was set by Harvard in 1984.
 
This year has been a similar story as the Panthers are currently 47-for-53 (88.7 percent) from the charity stripe through three games.
 
The Panthers' 47 made free throws are currently 23rd in NCAA Division I while their percentage of 88.7 ranks fifth.
 
MAKING IT COUNT
Milwaukee recorded just 15 baskets against Florida State but seven of those came off of a McKaela Schmelzer assist.
 
Against North Dakota State, Schmelzer was held without an assist, but she responded in a big way, dishing out seven helpers, the most since she had seven in last year's postseason WNIT win over Drake.
 
Oddly enough, Schmelzer also had a similar sequence last season. On January 29, she was held without an assist against Northern Kentucky but responded with seven the next day against the Norse.
 
Schmelzer's career-high is eight assists, which she has reached on multiple occasions.
 
SHOOTING WOES
The Panthers have found some late success from beyond the three-point line, increasing its number of made three-pointers in each of the first three games, but have struggled overall.
 
Milwaukee shot 35.5 percent from the floor in the opener but since, have performances of 34 percent and 23.1 percent from the field.
 
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Following a 20-win season which led to a trip to the postseason WNIT, the Milwaukee women's basketball team was selected to finish second in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, announced by the league office. MKE totaled 125 poll points, trailing only IUPUI, who was tabbed as the preseason favorite with 11 of 12 first place votes and 139 total poll points.
 
PRESEASON HONORS FOR WALSTAD
Megan Walstad was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team following an impressive campaign in 2020-21. After being sidelined the year prior, Walstad returned to the floor and dominated down low as she collected a First Team All-League award last season. The redshirt sophomore led the team in scoring (12.0 points per game) field goal percentage (50.0) and blocks (50) while ranking second in rebounds (8.7 per game).
 
Additionally, Walstad was one of 25 players to be named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
With the additional year of eligibility granted to winter athletes in NCAA, the Panthers will be on milestone watch this season.
 
McKaela Schmelzer and Sydney Staver are within reach of the games played record, which is held by Alyssa Fischer from 2015-20 (134). Schmelzer has played in 121 career games while Staver has 110 under her belt.
 
Schemlzer is also 15 games started away from the program record as well as 85 assists away from first place on the all-time list. The Loves Park, Ill. native has reached at least 95 assists in three of the past four seasons.
 
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz announced the addition of Justina Hernandez, Anna Lutz, and Hallie Majoros for 2020-21.
 
Hernandez joins the Panthers having helped her team win the regional title three consecutive years. The 5-10 guard averaged 15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists as a junior and has scored over 1,000 points in just three seasons.
 
Lutz, a two-time Division 3 State Champion, brings a list of accomplishments to Milwaukee including two-time Capital South Conference Player of the Year, two-time Wisconsin State Journal All-Area First Team, two-time AP All-State Third Team, and more. Lutz closed her junior year at Marshall High School with 1,479 career points after averaging 23 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
 
Coming to Milwaukee from Nordonia High School in Ohio, Majoros was named Suburban League All-Conference back-to-back years. The 5-9 guard also has a pair of Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association All-Northeast Inland District honors to her name.
 
EXPERIENCE IS KEY IN 2021-22
Despite graduating a pair of important starters in Brandi Bisping and Bre Cera, Milwaukee returns a solid core of experience for the upcoming season.
 
Graduates Miquela Santoro, McKaela Schmelzer, and Sydney Staver are back for another season after averaging over 20 minutes per game each. Schmelzer started all 28 contests and has led the team in assists in each of the last three seasons. Staver finished third on the team with 9.2 points per game and Santoro was the first off the bench and averaged 4.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in her first year with the Panthers. In total, Milwaukee has 13 returners from a year ago.
 
REWRITING RECORDS
Milwaukee saw its 2020-21 season into the program record book's top five on multiple occasions after the impressive 20-8 finish.

• 20 wins (4th)
• 12 consecutive wins (t-1st)
• .714 winning pct. (t-1st)
• .769 road winning pct. (2nd)
• +8.4 scoring margin (2nd)
• 83.8 free throw pct. (1st)
• +7.5 rebounding margin (3rd)
• 3.5 blocks per game (t-3rd)
• 494 turnovers (6th fewest) 

MAGIC NUMBER
In college basketball, there is no perfect recipe for a win but for Milwaukee, field goal percentage has been a pretty good baseline. In the last five years, when the Panthers hit at least 40 percent of their shots from the floor, MKE is 70-20 (.778). Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and MKE is 52-9 (.852) over the last five seasons.
 
LOCK DOWN D
The Milwaukee defense was a big reason for the Panthers' success last season. MKE held opponents to just 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, a number that led the Horizon League and ranked 16th nationally. That number also set a new school record, topping five other sub-40 percent seasons.
 
1. 2020-21: 35.2% (545-1547)
2. 2018-19: 36.4% (615-1690)
3. 2017-18: 37.9% (736-1940)
4. 2015-16: 38.8% (749-1928)
5. 2008-09: 39.0% (758-1942)
6. 2009-10: 39.7% (740-1864)
 
The Panthers also ranked 29th nationally in three-point defense (27.1 percent) and 18th in scoring defense (55.7 ppg).
 
TAKING ON TOP TALENT
Milwaukee will face a tough non-conference schedule in 2021-22, taking on three teams that reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago. In fact, just one of the seven non-conference opponents for this season did not have a winning record in 2021-22.
 
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee basketball 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+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.
 
ESPN+ offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
 
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.
 
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.