MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Milwaukee closes the weekend with an afternoon bout on Sunday, hosting Cleveland State, a team that has not played since January 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm. The game can be found on ESPN+ and will also feature live stats and live audio with Matt Menzl on the call 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 VIKINGS
Following three straight cancellations, Cleveland State enters Sunday's game having not played since New Years Day. The Vikings were forced to cancel their games against Detroit Mercy, Oakland, and most recently, Green Bay on Thursday.
 
CSU was off to a red-hot start to open the season, winning nine straight contests but have dropped three straight games since. That stretch included games against Robert Morris and Youngstown State but the Vikings still sit in second place in the Horizon League with a 4-2 record.
 
Destiny Leo paces Cleveland State with 22.1 points per game which leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation. The sophomore is shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 45.3 percent from three-point range.
 
As a team, Cleveland State boasts the highest-scoring offense with 72.6 points per contest while holding the opposition to 58.7 points per game.
 
The Vikings also rely on solid rebounding, leading the Horizon League with 42.7 rebounds per game including 13.9 per contest on the offensive end. Senior Barbara Zieniewska paces the group with 7.0 boards per game.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Megan Walstad recorded her fourth straight double-double of the season with a career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Panthers to a 65-44 victory over Cleveland State on January 16, 2021 in Milwaukee.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have won three straight games over Cleveland State to move to 36-24 all-time against the Vikings. MKE has won 12 of the last 13 against Cleveland State with the only loss coming on January 24, 2020 in Cleveland.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee heads to Green Bay to face the Phoenix on Friday, January 21.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Four players reached double figures as the Milwaukee women's basketball team outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 41-31 in the second half for a 68-56 victory on Friday night.
 
CASHING IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Milwaukee reached the free throw line 25 times in Friday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne and cashed in 22 times, a percentage of 88.0. It marked the second time this season that the Panthers hit at least 20 free throws. MKE finished 28-for-32 at the free throw line in the season opener against Ball State.
 
Milwaukee upped its free throw percentage to 81.5 (167-205), which leads the league and ranks second in the nation behind only Iowa (86.1 percent).
 
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.
 
BALANCED SCORING
In the win over Purdue Fort Wayne, Milwaukee had four players reach double figures for the fifth time this season. McKaela Schmelzer (12 points), Sydney Staver (11), Megan Walstad (11), and Emma Wittmershaus (10) all scored at least 10 points for the Panthers.
 
The five games with at least four players in double figures already surpasses last season's output and matches the total. It is the most games with at least four in double digits since the Panthers accomplished the feat in nine games in 2017-18.
 
WALSTAD WORKIN'
Megan Walstad was held scoreless in the first half of Friday's win but responded with 11 points in the second half. The redshirt sophomore finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, an assist, a steal, and three blocks against Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
Walstad was 7-for-8 from the free throw line, matching a career-high with seven made free throws. In fact, the last time Walstad made seven free throws was also against Purdue Fort Wayne when she went 7-for-8 on January 8, 2021.
 
Walstad reached double figures for the 11th time this season and currently ranks eighth in the Horizon League in scoring (13.5 points per game) and third in rebounding (8.9 rebounds per game).
 
DOMINATE THE GLASS
Milwaukee did work on the glass on Friday night, out-rebounding Purdue Fort Wayne 43-26. The +17-rebounding margin marked the best since +18 on February 20, 2021 against UIC.
 
The Panthers pulled in 17 offensive rebounds, marking their 13th game this season with at least 10 offensive boards. MKE ranks second in the league with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game. The Panthers have the most overall offensive rebounds in the conference (192), which they have turned into 152 second-chance points.
 
DISHING IT OUT
Against UIC, the Panthers matched a season-high with 17 assists, the third time Milwaukee has reached that mark.
 
MKE is averaging 12.79 assists per game this season which ranks fourth in the Horizon League.
 
The Panthers assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.31 against the Jaguars is the third highest this year. MKE had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.7 against Wisconsin (17 assists, 10 turnovers) and 1.45 against UIC (16 assists, 11 turnovers).
 
RACKING UP THE REBOUNDS
With six boards on December 30 against Oakland, Megan Walstad eclipsed 500 for her career, becoming the 28th player in program history to reach that milestone.
 
It marks the third straight season a Panthers' player reached 500 with Brandi Bisping accomplishing the feat in 2020-21 and Lizzie Odegard hitting the mark in 2019-20. Bisping finished with 597 for her career while Odegard totaled 578 rebounds.
 
Walstad reached 500 in her 70th game and is averaging 7.2 per contest for her career, which would rank fourth all-time in MKE history.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
In addition to reaching 500 career rebounds, Megan Walstad is just 141 points away from becoming the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Walstad is averaging 11.8 points per game in her three seasons so far.
 
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 133 career games while Staver has 122 under her belt.
 
Schemlzer is also three games started away from the program record as well as 54 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 and is averaging 3.1 per game in her career.
 
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 74-20 (.785). Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and MKE is 55-9 (.859) over the last five seasons.
 
When shooting under 40 percent, the Panthers are just 18-45 (.286) in the last five seasons.
 
ARE YOU CERA-IOUS
It was a solid weekend for Angie Cera, who came off the bench and averaged 11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.5 steals per game against UIC and IUPUI.
 
At UIC, Cera set a new career-high with 14 points, going 5-for-12 from the floor. She added a pair of three-pointers and two free throws in the win.
 
Against IUPUI, Cera finished 3-for-5 from the field including 2-for-2 from three-point range for eight points off the bench.
 
A STRETCH OF FOUR STRAIGHT
With Megan Walstad's 18-point, 11-rebound double-double against Northern Illinois, 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.
 
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.
 
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.