MILWAUKEE, Wis - Milwaukee aims to build off of a record-setting win on Thursday as the Panthers welcome Oakland to the Klotsche Center on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm from Milwaukee and can be viewed on ESPN+ with
Matt Menzl on the call. Live stats will also be available with all links available on MKEPanthers.com.
The Panthers are celebrating New Year's Eve with giveaways all game long for the final game of 2022.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters Saturday's game at 6-6 overall and 1-2 in league play after falling to Green Bay 64-42 on Thursday night. The Golden Grizzlies picked up their lone league win on December 4 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
It's a new-look Oakland team with plenty of new faces for ninth-year head coach Jeff Tungate. Marshall transfer Alexis Johnson has been a nice addition, leading the team with 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Breanne Beatty has also had a solid season so far, averaging 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per contest.
Oakland is around the middle of the pack in the Horizon League for most categories including scoring (6th, 64.6 points per game).
The Golden Grizzlies get to the line often, ranking third in the league with 244 free throw attempts.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Megan Walstad scored 26 points to reach 1,000 for her career as the Panthers topped Oakland 57-41 on February 12. Walstad finished 9-for-12 from the floor and added eight rebounds and three assists in the win, becoming the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee owns a slight 13-9 advantage in the all-time series with Oakland. The teams have split the last four matchups but have lost two of the last three at home against the Golden Grizzlies. Overall, MKE is 7-5 at the Klotsche Center against Oakland.
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers hit the road for four straight contests beginning with Northern Kentucky on January 5 at 6:00 pm.
LAST TIME OUT
Defense was stellar for Milwaukee on Thursday night, holding Detroit Mercy to a program record 17.5 percent shooting in a 63-29 rout at the Klotsche Center.
RECORD-SETTING WIN
Milwaukee's defense has been solid this season but was on another level against Detroit Mercy, setting multiple program bests.
The Panthers held the Titans to 29 points, the lowest for an opponent in NCAA Division I history surpassing Valparaiso's 31 from February 25, 2012.
Detroit also converted just 17.5 percent of its field goals, the lowest field goal percentage for an opponent since MKE held Youngstown State to 19.4 percent on March 6, 2010.
The seven made field goals for Detroit were also an opponent program-low for the Panthers, four fewer than the previous mark.
SERVING UP A WIN
Milwaukee was finding the open player on Thursday and making it count, totaling a season-high 22 assists.
It is the most assists for the Panthers since MKE had 24 in a win over Northern Iowa on March 15, 2018. That year, MKE eclipsed 20 assists on five different occasions.
The Panthers had those 22 assists on 25 made field goals, the highest assist percentage (88.0) since dishing out 16 assists on 18 field goals (88.8) in a win over Chicago State on March 3, 2016.
THAT'S WHAT WE NEAD
It was another impressive outing for
Kendall Nead, who finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The sophomore hit a pair of three-pointers and added three rebounds and three steals in the win over Detroit Mercy.
Nead has reached double figures in four of the last five contests including a career-high 18 points against Minnesota on December 14.
Over the last five contests, Nead is shooting 51.0 percent from the floor while averaging 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
ALL OF THE DOUBLE DIGITS
In the win over Detroit Mercy, Milwaukee had five players reach double figures.
Grace Crowley led the way with 13 points while
Kendall Nead (12),
Anna Lutz (11),
Kamy Peppler (10), and
Emma Wittmershaus (10) all joined in double digits.
It marks the first time Milwaukee had at least five players with at least 10 points since February 8, 2020. That game, Jamie Reit's 13 points led the way while Bre Cera added 12,
McKaela Schmelzer and
Sydney Staver each had 11, and Lizzie Odegard finished with 10 in a 65-60 win over Green Bay.
Milwaukee improved to 2-0 this year when at least four players reach double figures. The Panthers are 16-4 over the last five years when four or more players reach at least 10 points.
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 86-25 (.775) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 66-12 (.846).
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 25-61 (.294).
The Panthers have been held under 40 percent in seven games this year, going 1-6 in those contests.
WELCOME HOME
Milwaukee chalked up another victory on its home floor on Thursday, improving to 3-2 at the Klotsche Center this season.
The Panthers have been significantly better at home versus on the road this season with better shooting percentages across the board. MKE is averaging over eight more points per game at the K as well.
Defense has also been impressive in Milwaukee. The Panthers are holding opponents to just 51.2 points per game on 32.7 percent shooting.
FINDING A WAY INSIDE
Emma Wittmerhaus has been the Panthers' most consistent presence inside this season, averaging 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The redshirt senior added 10 points against Detroit Mercy and has reached double digits in five of the last six games and eight games overall this season.
In the win over Green Bay, Wittmershaus recorded the second double-double of her career with 14 points and 11 boards.
The redshirt senior is having a career-year, leading the team in points per game while ranking second in rebounds and field goal percentage (47.4).
A LITTLE BIT FROM EVERYONE
As it stands right now, the Panthers do not have a single player averaging at least 10 points per game but have five players with 6.0 or more per contest.
Emma Wittmershaus leads with 9.7 points per game followed by
Kendall Nead at 9.0.
Angie Cera is next with 8.7 points per game while
Grace Crowley is adding 6.9 per contest and
Megan Walstad is averaging 6.4.
The last time Milwaukee did not have at least one player averaging double digits was 2019-20. That year, Brandi Bisping (9.3 ppg) and Lizzie Odegard (9.0 ppg) led the charge for the Panthers.
ARE YOU CERA-IOUS?
Angie Cera was on fire in the second half against Eastern Illinois on December 22, finishing with a career-high 21 points. The sophomore finished 7-for-15 from the floor and hit four three-pointers.
In the second half alone, Cera went 5-for-10 with three triples for 16 of the Panthers' 29 points.
Cera is putting together a career-year so far with highs in points (8.7), rebounds (2.2), and assists (1.9). She's already surpassed her previous career-best with 14 three-pointers this year.
DEFENSE ON LOCK DOWN
Milwaukee has been strong on the defensive end this season, holding the opposition to 57.3 points per game on 36.6 percent shooting.
MKE is fifth in both categories. The Panthers also rank third in the league with 3.55 blocks per game, led by
Megan Walstad's 16 swats.
MKE has held the opponent to under 60 points in six different games including a program-low 29 points against Detroit Mercy on December 29.
GO GET IT, GRACE
Grace Crowley has put together an impressive year after playing limited minutes last season.
This year, Crowley is averaging 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore is shooting 65.0 percent from the floor and is 24-for-30 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line. Additionally, Crowley has added 16 assists and nine steals this season.
She's done all of that off the bench in just 16.5 minutes per game, which is eighth on the team.
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.
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 15th) and offensive rebounds (currently three 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.
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.
