MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee women's basketball team will look to bounce back on Saturday with its first-ever trip to Moon Township, Pennsylvania for a battle with Robert Morris University. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 pm CT. 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.
 
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris dropped a 63-44 decision on Thursday evening to fall to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in Horizon League play.
 
The Colonials, who were predicted to finish ninth in the Horizon League, have struggled on the offensive end, scoring just 55.4 points per contest, which ranks 11th in the league. RMU's defense, however, has been impressive, holding opponents to a league-leading 54.7 points per game.
 
It is a relatively young squad for head coach Charlie Buscaglia, who has seven freshmen on his 13-player roster.
 
Senior Esther Castedo leads the team with 11.1 points per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from long range. Castedo has reached double figures in two of seven games, scoring 23 points and 17 points in those two contests.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Defense was the story for the Panthers as Milwaukee forced 21 turnovers and held the Colonials to 23.1 percent shooting in a 56-37 victory at the Klotsche Center on December 20, 2020. Megan Walstad finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for MKE.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have won both all-time matchups against Robert Morris, each coming a season ago. MKE has held the Colonials to 44.5 points per game in the two contests.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers will look to stay hot against Wisconsin teams as Milwaukee welcomes Marquette to the Klotsche Center on December 8 for a 7:00 pm tipoff.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee had a hard time getting anything going offensively on Thursday night and fell 58-50 to Youngstown State on the road.
 
RACKING UP THE REBOUNDS
Milwaukee had three players pull in at least 10 rebounds on Thursday, with Emma Wittmershaus (12), McKaela Schmelzer (10), and Kendall Nead (10) each reaching double figures.
 
It marks the first time since November 16, 2016 that three Milwaukee players recorded at least 10 rebounds.
 
On that day, Jenny Lindner (12 rebounds), Sierra Ford-Washington (11), and Steph Kostowicz (11) each reached double digits. In fact, each of those three recorded a double-double that game, a 114-104 double-overtime loss to Northern Illinois.
 
CLEANING UP THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Milwaukee pulled in 15 offensive rebounds on Thursday, its seventh time totaling at least 10 boards on that end of the court.
 
The Panthers lead the league with 98 total offensive rebounds, averaging 12.3 per contest. Milwaukee has turned those offensive boards into 93 second-chance points.
 
PANTHERS IN THE POST
When they were on the floor, the Panthers' inside duo of Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus was solid once again, combining for 20 points and 18 rebounds.
 
This season, Walstad is averaging a team-best 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while Wittmershaus is putting up 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest.
 
BENCH SPARK
Kendall Nead once again provided solid play off of the bench for Milwaukee as she totaled three points, four assists, and a career-high 10 rebounds on Thursday.
 
Nead hit another three-pointer and now has seven this season, which ranks second on the team.
 
Through eight games, Nead is averaging 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists for the Panthers.
 
MAKE IT FOUR STRAIGHT
With Megan Walstad's 18-point, 11-rebound double-double against NIU on Sunday, the Panthers had at least one double-double in four consecutive games.
 
McKaela Schmelzer began the streak with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Wright State. Walstad followed with a 13-point, 12-rebound performance in a win over Northern Kentucky on November 20.
 
Emma Wittmershaus then totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Wisconsin before Walstad's second double-double of the season at NIU.
 
The last time Milwaukee had four straight games with a double-double was last season when Walstad and Brandi Bisping combined for six double-doubles in a four-game stretch from January 8 to January 16.
 
ROAD WOES
Milwaukee has been really solid at home in the Klotsche Center, shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and averaging 64.0 points with a 3-1 record.
 
The Panthers are still searching for their first win on the road, however, falling in all four contests away from the K. MKE is shooting just 30.1 percent from the floor and 21.1 percent from long range on the road, averaging 54.3 points per game while giving up 72.5.
 
SHUT DOWN THE STATE
Milwaukee has taken care of business against in-state opponents, winning five straight contests.
 
The Panthers have beaten Green Bay in three straight games, topped Marquette last season, and took down Wisconsin last Wednesday.
 
Milwaukee has won three of the last five matchups with the Badgers.
 
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.
 
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 88-for-104 (84.6 percent) from the charity stripe through eight games.
 
The Panthers' free throws percentage currently leads the league and NCAA Division I as of December 1.
 
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 126 career games while Staver has 115 under her belt.
 
Schemlzer is also 10 games started away from the program record as well as 68 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.
 
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.
 
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 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).
 
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.
 
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.