MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team kicks off its 51st season of competition on Tuesday, November 9 as the Panthers head to Ball State. Milwaukee then hosts its first game of 2021-22 the following Thursday, welcoming North Dakota State to the Klotsche Center.
 
MKE returns 13 players from a year ago and was selected to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll. Live audio will be available for the road 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 OPPONENTS
A year ago, Ball State finished 14-11 overall but ended the season strong with three wins in the final four regular season games. The Cardinals battled in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, but fell 61-59 against third-seeded Ohio.
 
Head coach Brady Sallee has plenty of new faces on his roster with eight newcomers, but also has strong experience with seven returners including four regular starters in Thelma Dis Agustsdottir, Sydney Freeman, Anna Clephane, and Annie Rauch. Three of those four averaged double figures a year ago. Dis Agustsdottir and Freeman provide a solid one-two punch from long range, combining for 109 three-pointers last season.  Sallee will need to fill the void of Oshlynn Brown, who averaged 18.9 points and 12.9 rebounds in 2020-21.
 
North Dakota State finished 15-9 in 2020-21 and has the pieces to make another run to the Summit League Tournament. The Bison return 11 players including the entire starting five. Ryan Cobbins, Heaven Hamling, and Emily Deitz each started 23 of 24 games last year and pace NDSU with 10 or more points per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
With last season's win, the Panthers improved to 5-1 all-time against Ball State. Milwaukee is 2-0 on the road against the Cardinals and has won five straight dating back to 1992.
 
After losing the first three meetings to NDSU, Milwaukee has won five straight against the Bison for a 5-3 all-time record. The two last met in 2018 with MKE earning a 57-55 win.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers head to Florida State on November 14 before a pair of Horizon League contests against WSU and NKU on November 18-19.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Behind a regular season record of 19-7, Milwaukee earned an invitation to the postseason WNIT. The Panthers made some noise with an impressive win against Drake, but fell to Saint Louis to end the year.
 
Milwaukee closed the season 20-8 overall, the program's 10th season with at least 20 victories.
 
The Panthers also finished 15-5 in Horizon League play and captured its third championship in program history.
 
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.
 
RETURN TO NORMAL
Milwaukee's schedule looks somewhat back to normal after a different set up a season ago. Last year, the Horizon League played a 20-game schedule with schools playing one league opponent twice each week on consecutive days at the same location.
 
This year, the Panther are scheduled for seven non-conference matchups and Horizon League play will be back to normal. The league schedule gets underway on November 18 and 20 before resuming in December. All eligible teams will compete in this year's Horizon League Basketball Championships four teams will look to advance to Indianapolis and #ReachTheHorizon March 7-8 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum located at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center.
 
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.
 
FOR STARTERS
The Panthers hold a 12-19 record in season openers at the NCAA Division I level, dating back to 1990-91. Last season, Milwaukee outscored Ball State 21-11 in the fourth quarter to come out with a 67-56 victory. Miquela Santoro (16 points) and Kendall Nead (10 points) each reached double figures in their first game for the Panthers.
 
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz is 6-3 in season openers at Milwaukee. The Panthers dominated Chicago State 82-58 in Rechlicz's Milwaukee coaching debut in 2012-13.
 
FREE THROW CHAMPIONS
Milwaukee was phenomenal from the line in 2020-21, setting 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.
 
Brandi Bisping was named the NCAA Division I free throw champion as she finished 101-for-108 (93.5 percent) from the line. Bisping also wrapped up her career as the best free throw shooter in program history. She finished 278-for-311 at the line, a 89.4 percent clip which also puts her 13th all-time in NCAA Division I history for players with at least 250 makes.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. Schmelzer has played in 118 career games while Staver has 107 under her belt.
 
Schemlzer is also 18 games started away from the program record as well as 93 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.
 
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.
 
POSTSEASON PANTHERS
Milwaukee reached the postseason WNIT for the third time in program history last season and added another postseason win to the resume. The Panthers reached the second round of the tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Overall, Milwaukee is 2-3 at the postseason WNIT.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HARDWARE
Megan Walstad and Brandi Bisping each pulled in Horizon League honors last season. Walstad earned a spot on the First Team and All-Defensive Team while Bisping was named Third Team. Bisping was also one of five named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team.
 
Walstad's First Team selection is the first for the Panthers since Steph Kostowicz in 2015-16 and the All-Defensive honor is the first since Ryaen Johnson earned the distinction in 2018-19.
 
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 (Greece) and Steph Kostowicz (Romania) have taken their talents to the next level. Both Rodriguez and Kostowicz also play for the Wisconsin GLO and helped the team capture the Global Women's Basketball Association Championship in 2019 and 2021.
 
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.