MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Panthers hit the road looking to bounce back after dropping their first two Horizon League contests of the season. Milwaukee takes on Wright State in a pair of afternoon contests with tipoff set for 1:00 pm on both Friday and Saturday. Live audio with Matt Menzl on the call along with a link for live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
With no fans permitted across the league for the remainder of the Horizon League season, fans can engage with the Panthers' Virtual Gameday Hub, a page on MKEPanthers.com that houses any and all links fans will need for that gameday experience.
 
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State just earned a weekend sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne to improve to 11-3 in the Horizon League. The Raiders have boasted a solid defense which ranks second in the league behind Milwaukee in points allowed per game (55.5) and field goal percentage defense (36.1).
 
The Raiders sit as one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 45.1 boards per contest which places them 14th among NCAA Division I teams. Wright State's rebounding margin of 13.2 ranks seventh in the nation.
 
Offensively, junior Angel Baker leads the way for WSU, averaging 14.4 points and 3.5 assists per game.
 
The Raiders have not excelled behind the three-point line, shooting just 24.7 percent from long range which ranks 11th in the Horizon League.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Four players reached double digits and the Panthers shot 52.9 percent from the floor to top Wright State 77-67 on February 1. The victory kicked off Milwaukee's 7-1 stretch to end the regular season. Brandi Bisping led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wright State holds a 31-29 all-time advantage over Milwaukee, but the Panthers earned a series sweep of the Raiders in 2019-20. Since the 2015-16 season, the two have been back and forth with MKE winning six of 11 contests against WSU. The Panthers are 12-18 on the road against the Raiders.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee returns to the Klotsche Center for its final home series. The Panthers will take on Oakland on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13 with tipoff at 5:00 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively. MKE will then close the regular season at UIC the following weekend.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee pushed late but couldn't overcome a double-digit deficit, falling to Northern Kentucky 68-61 at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers rattled off a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter but the Norse hit late free throws to seal the sweep.
 
FEELIN' IT IN FEBRUARY
Milwaukee caught fire in February last season, finishing 7-1 to vault up the Horizon League standings for the postseason. The Panthers have won at least four games in February each of the last five seasons with a record of 25-14 record.
 
SURVEYING THE STANDINGS
This season, with not every team playing all 20 games of the Horizon League schedule, the postseason seedings have a complex formula. Despite dropping a pair last weekend, Milwaukee sits at 12-2 and still owns the top seed with three series left to play.
 
COLLEGE INSIDER POLL
Milwaukee checks in at No. 12 in this week's College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll, dropping six spots from last week's rankings.
 
The Panthers still own the best ranking of any Horizon League team as IUPUI ranks No. 20 while Wright State is receiving votes.
 
MKE's only non-conference loss of the season was to Bowling Green, who checks in at No. 13 with a 13-3 record.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUO
Brandi Bisping and Megan Walstad each added another double-double to their resume last weekend and have now combined for 12 this season.
 
It marks the most double-doubles for teammates since the 2017-18 season when Jenny Lindner (9) and Steph Kostowicz (8) combined for 17 double-doubles.
 
Walstad's eight double-doubles leads the Horizon League and ranks 17th in NCAA Division I.
 
TOUGH TANDEM
Megan Walstad and Brandi Bisping are the only two teammates in the Horizon League averaging at least 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
Walstad ranks 12th in scoring (13.4ppg) and second in rebounding (9.7rpg) while Bisping is 17th in scoring (11.0) and fifth in rebounding (8.2rpg).
 
STAVER FINDING THE RANGE
Last weekend, Sydney Staver began to find her range, finishing 8-for-16 from deep. The senior averaged 16.0 points against Northern Kentucky thanks to her long-range shooting. Staver currently leads the Panthers and ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 25 three-pointers, shooting 41.7 percent from downtown.
 
POWERING THROUGH LEAGUE PLAY
Despite dropping a pair to Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee sits at 12-2 in Horizon League action.
 
The Panthers have already matched the most Horizon League wins since 2015-16 (12) and with six games left on the schedule, could reach the program record of 14 which was set in 2005-06 and 2001-02.
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POSSIBILITY
Megan Walstad still has to be in consideration for potential Horizon League Player of the Year after another solid weekend.

• 13.4 ppg (12th)
• 9.7 rpg (2nd)
• 52.5 FG% (1st)
• 91.3 FT% (1st)
• 1.7 bpg (2nd)
• 8 double-doubles (1st) 

Walstad is Milwaukee's first three-time Player of the Week honoree since Traci Edwards in 2008-09. Edwards owns the most weekly awards in program history with 10.
 
PERFECT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Milwaukee had its two lowest outputs from the free throw line last week, but still connected at a high rate. The Panthers finished 16-for-19 at the stripe in the series against Northern Kentucky.
 
Milwaukee currently ranks third in the nation in free throws made (274) and second in free throw percentage (84.0). Only Arkansas (333) and Murray State (283) have made more while only UC Davis (84.2) has a higher percentage.
 
CLOSING OUT SERIES
Milwaukee's defense has been particularly good this season and that is credit to their depth and ability to close out series.
 
In game two of the Horizon League back-to-backs, the Panthers are holding opponents to 30.7 percent shooting from the floor and 26.9 percent shooting from three-point range while allowing just 50.6 points per game.
 
The Panthers own a scoring margin of +16.1 points per game in the seven game twos. Milwaukee's shooting percentages also increase from 40.5 percent to 43.3 percent from the field and 29.2 percent to 34.1 percent from three-point range in games one to two.
 
SOMETHING TO PROVE
Milwaukee was predicted to finish seventh of 12 in the 2020-21 Horizon League Preseason Poll with 76 poll points. Defending champion IUPUI earned all 12 first place votes as the Jaguars were predicted to repeat.
 
YEAR 50
November 25 not only marked this year's season opener, but it was also the start of the 50th season of Milwaukee women's basketball. Kyle Rechlicz, in her ninth season, is the seventh coach in program history and third with at least 100 victories. As a program since inception in 1971-72, the Panthers have totaled 13 conference or district championships, two NCAA Tournament appearances, 19 Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famers, nine All-Americans, and much more.
 
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Although the Milwaukee Athletic Department announced it will not host spectators for any home men's or women's basketball games until at least January 15, 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+. Additional information for road game coverage can be found online.
 
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 calling the action for all 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.