MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Milwaukee returns to the Klotsche Center for the first time in three weeks as the Panthers open Horizon League action with Green Bay. MKE will host the in-state rival on Thursday, December 1 at 7:00 pm.
 
The game will be featured on ESPN+ and will also have live stats and live audio with Matt Menzl on the call. All links can be found on MKEPanthers.com. The game also marks the annual Pride Night at the Klotsche Center.
 
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Through five games, Green Bay sits at 3-2 after splitting a pair of games at St. Pete's Showcase over Thanksgiving. The Phoenix pushed Florida to the finish but fell before taking down Northeastern 56-46.
 
Defense has been solid for Green Bay, ranking third in the league in points allowed per game (60.4) and fourth in opponent field goal percentage (36.8). On the offensive end, the Phoenix have found some success from long range, hitting 34.1 percent of their attempts from three which ranks second in the Horizon League.
 
Senior Hailey Oskey has done it all for Green Bay, leading in points (10.6), rebounds (5.6), and assists (2.6) per game. Cassie Schlitz has chipped in 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while senior Sydney Levy his shooting 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from three-point range and averaging 8.0 points per contest.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Green Bay earned a 57-42 victory over Milwaukee in the quarterfinals of last year's Horizon League Championships. MKE shot just 34 percent from the floor and was 6-for-20 from long range. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
Green Bay owns a 54-16 all-time record against Milwaukee, but the Panthers have won four of the last six matchups. The two split the regular season a year ago. Nine of the 16 victories over Green Bay have come at the Klotsche Center.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers will head to IUPUI for a 6:00 pm matchup on Monday, December 5. MKE will then have three non-conference contests remaining before getting back to Horizon League action.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Grace Crowley hit two free throws with 63 seconds left in overtime as the Milwaukee women's basketball team hung on to beat Boise State 55-54 on Sunday afternoon at the Nugget Classic.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Thursday marks the Horizon League opener for the Panthers. In head coach Kyle Rechlicz's tenure, Milwaukee is 6-4 in league openers including three straight victories.
 
Last year, Milwaukee opened at home against Wright State and earned a 58-47 victory. MKE took down Green Bay 61-58 in 2020-21 and handed the Raiders a 60-58 setback the year prior.
 
Milwaukee has recorded seven straight winning seasons in Horizon League play including a 13-9 mark last year.
 
A FLIP AT THE FREE THROW LINE
After knocking down 37 of 42 attempts (88.1 percent) in the first two games, Milwaukee has had some trouble at the free throw line.
 
The Panthers are just 23-for-43 (53.5 percent) from the charity stripe over the last four games.
 
On November 16, Milwaukee was held without a free throw attempt for the first time in its NCAA Division I history, a span of 932 games.
 
It has been a big turn for what was one of the most consistent free throw shooting teams in the country. From 2020-22, the Panthers recorded the second-best percentage from the charity stripe in the nation. MKE hit 82.1 percent (691-842) of its foul shots trailing only Iowa's 82.4 percent (878-1065).
 
MKE set the NCAA single-season record in 2020-21 with a mark of 83.8 percent, only to have the Hawkeyes top it last year with a percentage of 84.6.
 
RACKIN' UP THE BOARDS
In Sunday's win against Boise State, Milwaukee racked up a season-high 56 rebounds. It marks the most boards since also have 56 on February 23, 2018 in a 90-45 victory against Detroit Mercy.
 
The Panthers pulled in 21 offensive rebounds, the most since Milwaukee had 22 in a 65-68 victory at UIC on January 6, 2022.
 
GO GET IT, GRACE
Grace Crowley has put together an impressive start to the season after playing limited minutes last season.
 
Through six games, Crowley is averaging 7.7 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore is shooting 56.0 percent from the floor and is 18-for-21 (85.7) from the free throw line, both team-bests. Additionally, Crowley has added 10 assists and eight steals this season.
 
She's done all of that off the bench in just 18 minutes per game, which is tied for seventh on the team.
 
POST PRESENCE
Anna Lutz has been putting in work in the post and has taken advantage of increased opportunities. Over the weekend, the redshirt freshman saw 13 minutes of action in both games. She finished with six points and three rebounds against Nevada and followed with a career-high and team-high nine rebounds in the overtime win against Boise State.
 
Through six games this season, Lutz is averaging 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in nine minutes per game.
 
DEFENSE ON LOCK DOWN
The Panthers' defense has been solid to start the season, holding opponents to 59.8 points per game on 36.5 percent shooting, both of which rank in the top three of the Horizon League. Milwaukee also ranks third in the league with 4.0 blocks per game, led by Megan Walstad's nine swats.
 
On Sunday, MKE held Boise State to a season-low 29.7 percent shooting. The Panthers have held their opponent to under 40 percent shooting in five of six games this season.
 
Milwaukee held UIC to just 44 points on November 16, a season-low for opponents. It is the lowest for an opponent since holding Oakland to 41 points on February 12 last season.
 
With the Panthers scoring just 43 points in that game, it marks the first time since February 7, 1974 that both teams failed to reach 44 points or more.
 
WITMERSHAUS WORKIN'
Emma Wittmershaus finished 5-for-9 from the floor for a season-best 13 points against Boise State. It marks the fourth time in the last five games that she has reached double digits.
 
So far this year, Wittmershaus is leading the team with 9.2 points and is third with 4.3 rebounds per game. She is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor.
 
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 six seasons, Milwaukee is 84-25 (.778) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 65-12 (.844).
 
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 25-58 (.338).
 
STACKING UP SWIPES
Milwaukee totaled a season-high 11 steals against Nevada, more than doubling the previous season high. Kamy Peppler totaled four steals while Jada Donaldson added three.
 
The 11 steals marks the most for the Panthers since totaling 12 on February 12, 2022 against Detroit Mercy. Last season, MKE was 5-2 when recording at least 10 steals.
 
NEAD CHIPPING IN EVERYWHERE
Kendall Nead did a little bit of everything against Nevada, totaling six points, an assist, and season-high seven rebounds.
 
She followed that with eight points, three rebounds, and two assists in the overtime win over Boise State.
 
This year, Nead is averaging 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. She is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
BENCH MOB
Milwaukee has been finding its depth early on this season with over 20 bench points in four of the first six contests.
 
Against Wisconsin, MKE starters were held down, but the bench sparked a rally in the second half and finished with 24 points.
 
Crowley has been a major factor off the bench as well, accounting for 13 of 28 against Loyola Chicago, eight of 21 against Marquette, and 13 of 20 against Boise State.
 
PRESEASON HONORS FOR WALSTAD
Megan Walstad was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team following another impressive campaign in 2021-22. Walstad dominated down low, earning her second straight First Team All-League award last season. She led the team and was among the league's leaders in points per game (14.4), rebounds per game (9.1), field goal percentage (48.8), free throw percentage (88.9), and blocks per game (1.5). Walstad was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.
 
Walstad joined a group of just three others in program history to earn All-League First Team honors on more than one occasion in the Panthers' Division I era and is just the second in MKE history to earn All-Defensive Team distinction multiple times.
 
Additionally, Walstad was one of 25 players to be named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason Watch List.
 
MISS BASKETBALL IN THE HOUSE
Kamy Peppler was crowned 2022 Miss Basketball for Wisconsin but it's not the first time Milwaukee has had a student-athlete with that title arrive on campus.
 
In fact, Megan Walstad earned that title in her home state of Minnesota after leading Eastview High School to a perfect 32-0 record as a senior.
 
Prior to that, just one other player in program history donned the title of Miss Basketball. Meredith Onson (2005-08) was a consensus Wisconsin Player of the year in 2002-03. Onson originally attended Boston University but transfered to Milwaukee for the 2004-05 season.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
Megan Walstad's name is already all over the Milwaukee record books but she has the opportunity to etch her name in a few more times.
 
For her career, she has already cracked the program's top 10 in the following.

• Points per game (9th, 12.4)
• Rebounds per game (4th, 7.6)
• Field goal percentage (4th, 50.9)
• Free throw percentage (5th, 84.0)
• Total rebounds (9th, 669)
• Total blocks (4th, 124)
• Double-doubles (6th, 19)

Additionally, Walstad could reach the top 10 in total points (currently 18th) and offensive rebounds (currently 12 away from 10th).
 
FOR STARTERS
The Panthers hold a 12-21 record in season openers at the NCAA Division I level, dating back to 1990-91. Last season, MKE hung around with Ball State but was outlasted 84-75 in overtime. Megan Walstad led four players in double figures with 15 points. Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz is 6-5 in season openers at Milwaukee. The Panthers dominated Chicago State 82-58 in Rechlicz's Milwaukee coaching debut in 2012-13.
 
Rechlicz is also 6-5 in home openers since taking the reins in 2012-13. The last time Milwaukee opened its home schedule with Wisconsin was in 2018-19. The Panthers suffered a 68-57 setback to the Badgers that season.
 
A LOOK AT THE NON-CONFERENCE
Per usual, Milwaukee will be tested in its non-conference schedule in preparation of the Horizon League slate.
 
Milwaukee has nine non-conference games set for 2022-23 highlighted by Marquette, Nevada, Minnesota, and Maine, all of which reached the WNIT or WBI.
 
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.