MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Following a 16-game break from competition, Milwaukee returns to action on its home court to close out 2021 with a 7:00 pm tipoff against Oakland. Live audio will be available for the contest 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 GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland split both of its first two weekends of Horizon League action and sits 2-2 in league play with a 4-7 overall record. The Golden Grizzlies dropped a pair of non-conference games at the Las Vegas South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, falling to Bowling Green and Marshall University.
 
Head coach Jeff Tungate has a solid leadership core with eight upperclassmen including Kahlaijah Dean, who earned a spot on the All-Horizon League First Team a year ago. This season, Dean is averaging a team-high 18.1 points per game, which puts her fourth in the league. The senior also ranks third in the league with an average of 2.2 steals per game.
 
Brianna Breedy and Breanne Beatty have also been consistent starters for the Golden Grizzlies, combining for 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Kayla Luchenbach has been solid off of the bench, averaging 7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in just 19.5 minutes per game.
 
As a team, Oakland has struggled on the defensive end, allowing a league-high 71.1 points per game with teams shooting 44.2 percent from the floor.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee got a season-high 18 points from Sydney Staver as the Panthers held off Oakland 69-66 on February 13, 2021. The Golden Grizzlies got 20 fourth-quarter points from Kahlaijah Dean, but MKE scored 27 points in the final frame to hold off the Oakland comeback.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee holds a 12-8 all-time advantage over Oakland including winning three of the last four matchups, all on its home floor. Oakland did earn an 83-82 overtime win over MKE last season.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers will open the New Year at home against Detroit Mercy on January 1 at 2:00 pm. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee held Northwestern to just 26.2 percent shooting, but the Wildcats took advantage of second-chance points after the break and the Panthers fell 55-46 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on December 14.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
With the additional year of eligibility granted to winter athletes in NCAA, the Panthers will be on milestone watch this season.
 
Megan Walstad is just four rebounds away from becoming the 28th Panther to reach 500 rebounds. She is also 188 points from becoming the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
 
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 129 career games while Staver has 118 under her belt.
 
Schemlzer is also seven games started away from the program record as well as 64 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.
 
D-FENSE... D-FENSE
As it was last year, defense has been starting to pick up for Milwaukee. Against Northwestern, the Panthers held the Wildcats to just 26.2 percent shooting from the floor and 20.8 percent from long range.
 
In the last four games, Milwaukee has held the opposition to just 25 percent from three-point range. The Panthers are fourth in the league in three-point defense, holding teams to 28.9 percent from deep this season.
 
Milwaukee has forced at least 20 turnovers from the opponent on five occasions and rank second in the Horizon League with 184 opponent turnovers.
 
BACK IN A GROOVE
After being held to single digits in the last two contests, Megan Walstad roared back with a 20-point, 13-rebound performance against Northwestern on December 14. The sophomore finished 7-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line as she was named Horizon League Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career.
 
Walstad is currently seventh in the league in scoring (14.2 points per game), second in rebounding (9.2 per game), fourth in field goal percentage (47.7 percent), and third in blocks (1.4 per game).
 
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 123-for-150 (82.0 percent) from the charity stripe through 11 games.
 
The Panthers' free throws percentage currently leads the league and ranks second in NCAA Division I as of December 23.
 
CLEANING UP THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Milwaukee pulled in 12 offensive rebounds against Northwestern and now has recorded at least 10 offensive boards in nine of 11 contests this season.
 
The Panthers rank third in the league with 129 total offensive rebounds. Milwaukee has turned those rebounds into 113 second-chance points.
 
BACK TO LEAGUE ACTION
The Panthers wrapped up their tough non-conference schedule with the game against Northwestern and are no doubt ready to return to league play.
 
Milwaukee is off to a 3-1 start the Horizon League and has put up much better numbers against the conference opponents. The Panthers are shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from deep in four Horizon League games compared to 35.2 percent from the field and 21.5 percent from three-point range in seven non-conference games. MKE has also been better on the glass in those games, pulling in 38.8 rebounds per game compared to 33.9 rebounds per contest in non-conference action.
 
BENCH SPARK
Against Marquette, Kendall Nead chipped in six points, two assists, two steals, and a rebound in 16 minutes off of the bench.
 
She has been solid for the Panthers in reserve, averaging 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in seven games off of the bench. The freshman is shooting 40 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
 
Nead is developing into one of the best three-point options for Milwaukee as she leads the team with 10 triples and a 37.0 three-point percentage.
 
BALANCED SCORING
In the win over Wisconsin, Milwaukee had four players reach double figures for the fourth time this season with Megan Walstad (21 points), Miquela Santoro (19), Emma Wittmershaus (15), and McKaela Schmelzer (13) all scoring at least 10 points.
 
The four games with four in double digits already surpass last season's output just six games into the schedule.
 
CAREER-NIGHT FOR SCHMELZER
McKaela Schmelzer got out to a hot start against Wright State, totaling eight points and seven rebounds in the first quarter of the Panthers' win over Northern Kentucky. The graduate finished with a career-high 13 rebounds and added 10 points, recording her first career double-double. She also added a team-best five assists.
 
Schmelzer's previous career-best was nine rebounds on two different occasions.
 
The double-double also marked the first of the season for the Panthers.
 
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The win over Wright State marked the third consecutive season that Milwaukee has started the Horizon League schedule with a win. Last year, the Panthers took down Green Bay 61-58 at the Kress Center.
 
It also marks the second time in three years that Milwaukee has sent Wright State home with a loss in the league opener.
 
DISPLAYING DISCIPLINE
In the win over Wright State, the Panthers committed just five fouls after averaging nearly 20 per game in the first three contests.
 
It marked the first time the Panthers had less than 10 fouls in a game since November 24, 2018 against UC Riverside. In fact, the Panthers had only eight fouls in two games that season.
 
The five fouls against Wright State are the fewest committed by the Panthers in the last 17 seasons.
 
The two free throws allowed are the fewest since December 21, 2014 when Chicago State finished 1-for-1 from the charity stripe in a 69-47 Panthers' victory.
 
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.
 
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 73-20 (.785). Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and MKE is 55-9 (.859) over the last five seasons.
 
RECORD DEFENSIVE DISPLAY
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).
 
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.