MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Milwaukee aims to extend its winning streak to three as the Panthers head to Indianapolis on Monday, December 5 to take on IUPUI in The Jungle. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm and will be featured on ESPN+. The game will also have live stats and live audio with Matt Menzl on the call. All links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI will get its first taste of Horizon League action on Saturday as the Jaguars host Green Bay at 1:00 pm CT.
 
Under first-year head coach Kate Bruce, IUPUI opened the season 3-3 so far with wins over Butler, Southern Illinois, and Ohio. There has been some turnover from last season, but four of the five typical starters are returners from a season ago. Bruce has plenty of experience on the roster with six seniors and two graduate students.
 
Jazmyn Turner, a transfer from Ball State, has been solid in the post and leads the team with 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Destiny Perkins runs the point and is averaging 10.2 points and a team-best 4.2 assists per game.
 
IUPUI has found success beyond the arc, shooting a league-best 35.5 percent from long range with six players hitting at least seven three-pointers this year. Ali Berg is pacing the way, going 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from deep.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee shot 52 percent from the floor but could not keep up with IUPUI and fell 71-59 in Milwaukee. Megan Walstad scored 15 points while Kendall Nead added 12 on 6-for-9 shooting in February.
 
SERIES HISTORY
IUPUI holds an 8-3 all-time advantage over Milwaukee dating back to 2018. The Panthers won both regular season matchups in the 2020-21 season but have dropped three straight to the Jaguars including a Horizon League Tournament Semifinal on March 8, 2021.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee returns to its non-conference schedule as it welcomes Eastern Illinois to the Klotsche Center on Saturday, December 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A go-ahead three-pointer by Angie Cera helped spark a 13-0 run to end the game as the Milwaukee women's basketball team took down Green Bay 59-52 in Thursday's Horizon League opener.
 
TWIN TOWERS
Emma Wittmershaus and Megan Walstad got it going for the Panthers in the win over Green Bay, totaling 29 points and 20 rebounds.
 
Wittmershaus recorded the second double-double of her career with 14 points and 11 boards while Walstad led the team with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
 
FIRST HALF SPARK
Kendall Nead came out firing on Thursday and led the team with 10 points in the first half, going 5-for-8 from the floor.
 
Nead found space particularly in the second quarter as she knocked down four of six attempts to help put MKE up 34-30 at the half.
 
DEFENSE ON LOCK DOWN
Defense was a major key in the Panthers' win over Green Bay on Thursday. Milwaukee held the Phoenix to just 1-for-14 shooting from the floor in the fourth quarter including zero points over the final 5:55.
 
It marks the second straight game that Milwaukee has held an opponent to just three points in a quarter after keeping Boise State in check in the second period on November 27.
 
The Panthers' defense has been solid to start the season, holding opponents to 58.7 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 3.86 blocks per game, led by Megan Walstad's 11 swats.
 
The Panthers have held their opponent to under 40 percent shooting in six of seven 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.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Thursday's win over Green Bay marked Milwaukee's fourth straight year opening the Horizon League schedule with a win. It also improved head coach Kyle Rechlicz' record to 7-4 in league openers.
 
The Panthers have recorded seven straight winning seasons in Horizon League play including a 13-9 mark last year.
 
A FLIP AT THE FREE THROW LINE
Milwaukee bounced back at the charity stripe in Thursday's win, going 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the free throw line.
 
It is a welcomed change after struggling over the previous four contests. During that stretch, MKE was just 23-for-43 (53.5 percent) from the line.
 
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.
 
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 seven games, Crowley is averaging 6.6 points and 4.9 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 12 assists and eight steals this season.
 
She's done all of that off the bench in just 17 minutes per game, which is eighth on the team. 
 
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 seven seasons, Milwaukee is 85-25 (.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 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
 
BENCH MOB
Milwaukee found 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.
 
GLASS WORK
Rebounding has been a strong suit of the Panthers in recent years but it was a different story against Marquette on November 13.
 
Milwaukee outrebounded opponents by an average of 5.0 per contest across the first two games but Marquette ended that. The Golden Eagles piled up 58 rebounds compared to 26 for the Panthers. It marked the most rebounds for an opponent since the 2013-14 season when Oakland pulled in 59 rebounds against the Panthers.
 
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 nine away from 10th).
 
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.