ROCHESTER, Mich. – Megan Walstad scored 26 points on Saturday, reaching 1,000 for her career, to lead the Milwaukee women's basketball team over Oakland 57-41 at the O'Rena.
 
"She's been scoring at such a high level especially these last two weeks her numbers have really increased," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "We need to make sure we are continuing to find those touches for her. It's just really fun to see our offense work through such a dynamic post."
 
Walstad set the pace with 11 points in the first half and was relentless throughout, finishing 9-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line for a season-high 26 points. She added eight rebounds and three assists.
 
She became the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark and was ninth-fastest, accomplishing the feat in 81 games.
 
"It's really exciting for me just being able to do that for my team. A lot of the credit goes to them for making great passes and always looking for me," Walstad said. "I am just really appreciative of my teammates."
 
Defense also stepped up for the Panthers (11-13, 10-7 Horizon League), holding Oakland to just 26.9 percent shooting on the day including 2-for-18 from three-point range.
 
"I think we are playing at a very high level. I have not seen us play defense like the way we played defense tonight," Rechlicz continued. "We've got to channel that energy, we've got to continue that and bring that into this next series."
 
Walstad reached double figures in the first half with 11 points but overall, it was a slow start offensively for both teams as MKE saw a 23-20 advantage at the break.
 
Led by Walstad and Sydney Staver, Milwaukee came out hot in the third quarter and used a 15-3 run to build a 15-point lead.
 
The lead reached as many as 19 after a pair of Walstad free throws before the Golden Grizzlies (11-12, 9-7 Horizon League) hit a triple to make it 45-29 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Walstad then hit four free throws in the fourth quarter before a layup with 2:06 remaining gave her 26 for the game and 1,000 for her career and MKE sealed a weekend sweep.
 
Emma Wittmershaus added eight points and eight rebounds while McKaela Schmelzer chipped in four points, three rebounds, and five assists.
 
Angie Cera came off the bench and went 3-for-5 from the floor for seven points.
 
Milwaukee returns to the Klotsche Center on Thursday, February 17 to host IUPUI at 7:00 pm.
 
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