MILWAUKEE, Wis. - On Saturday, Milwaukee welcomes UIC to the Klotsche Center for the annual Senior Day celebration as well as Alumni Day. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm followed by a celebration of the careers of three seniors, Miquela Santoro, McKaela Schmelzer, and Sydney Staver. The game will be featured on My24 Sports with Bob Brainerd and alumna Maria Viall on the call. Matt Menzl will have the call on the Black and Gold Network.
 
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 FLAMES
The Flames have had a tough year, coming in at just 2-21 with a 1-17 Horizon League record. The sole league win came at Detroit Mercy on December 4 but UIC has not won since.
 
Despite the record, Jaida McCloud has been a bright spot for UIC, leading the team and ranking fifth in the Horizon league with 15.8 points per game. The sophomore is also averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds per contest and is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor.
 
As a team, UIC is last in the league in points per game at just 53.2. The Flames also rank 12th in the league in field goal percentage (35.9) and three-point percentage (25.9).
 
Sophomore Kristian Young has been solid for UIC as well, ranking second with 9.6 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds and a team-best 4.2 assists per contest.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Behind a career-high 14 points from Angie Cera and timely baskets down the stretch, the Milwaukee women's basketball team earned a 65-58 victory against UIC on January 6. Miquela Santoro added 13 points while Ky Depsey-Toney led UIC with 15.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has dominated the all-time series against UIC, winning 40 of 61 matchups. The Panthers have won 13 straight over the Flames dating back to 2016 and have not lost to UIC at the Klotsche Center since 2014.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee wraps up its home slate against Green Bay on Monday, February 21 with a 7:00 pm contest against in-state rival, Green Bay.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Milwaukee was efficient on Thursday night, shooting 52 percent from the floor, but could not close an early deficit and fell to IUPUI 71-59 at the Klotsche Center.
 
BIG BENCH SPARK
The Panthers bench stood out on Thursday night, accounting for 26 points.
 
Kendall Nead led the group, matching a career-high with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Angie Cera knocked down a three-point attempt and chipped in three assists and a rebound in 15 minutes.
 
Macy McGlone stepped up and went 3-for-3 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the free throw line in just 10 minutes of action.
 
POWERFUL IN THE PAINT
Milwaukee once again cashed in down low, pouring in 36 points in the paint. The Panthers have outscored their opponent in the paint in three consecutive games, averaging 32.7 points per game inside during that stretch.
 
MKE finished 11-for-17 (65 percent) in the restricted area and 18-for-27 (66.7) in the paint overall against IUPUI.
 
WALSTAD WORKIN'
After a slow first half, Megan Walstad got it going after the break, scoring 13 second-half points. The redshirt sophomore finished with 15 points on 7-for-15 shooting against IUPUI.
 
It marks the 11th straight double-digit performance for Walstad, who has been outstanding as of late. She has put together another impressive season for the Panthers and is among the league leaders in multiple categories.

• 15.0 points per game (7th)
• 8.6 rebounds per game (4th)
• 50.2 field goal percentage (3rd)
• 88.4 free throw percentage (3rd)
• 1.6 blocks per game (3rd)

BLOCK PARTY
In addition to 15 points and five assists, Megan Walstad matched a career-high with five blocks against the Jaguars on Thursday.
 
The five swats mark the most for Walstad since February 13, 2021 when she also recorded five blocks, a stretch of 29 games.
 
HEATING UP DOWN THE STRETCH
The Milwaukee offense has been heating up, shooting at least 42 percent in each of the last seven games.
 
Prior to that, the Panthers had shot better than 42 percent just five times out of 17 games.
 
In this seven-game swing, Milwaukee is shooting 51.0 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from three-point range while averaging 63.9 points per game.
 
1K CLUB COMPLETE
With a season-high 26 points against Oakland on Saturday, Megan Walstad became the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 for her career.
 
The redshirt sophomore did it in just 81 games which sits as the ninth-fastest of those to reach the milestone.
 
It marks Milwaukee's first 1,000-point scorer since Steph Kostowicz (2014-18) who accomplished the feat in 2017.
 
Earlier this season, Walstad also became the 28th player in program history to reach 500 career rebounds.
 
She is just the 13th player in program history to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for her career.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
With just four regular season games remaining, the Panthers have their eyes on the Horizon League standings.
 
Milwaukee has climbed up to sixth and is just one victory away from Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky, who check in at 11-5 in league play.
 
The top four in the standings will receive a bye for the Horizon League Tournament which begins on Tuesday, March 1.
 
The final four teams will head to Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 7-8 for a chance to hoist the Horizon League Championship trophy.
 
GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GRADUATES
The graduate trio of Miquela Santoro, McKaela Schmelzer, and Sydney Staver have laid it all on the line in their final year of collegiate hoops.
 
The three have each started at least 23 games and combine for 25.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 3.3 steals per game.
 
BACK ON TRACK
After an uncharacteristic three-game stretch of shooting 58.3 percent from February 3-7, the Panthers have bounced back at the charity stripe.
 
Milwaukee is 28-for-30 (91.7 percent) from the line the last three games, improving the season percentage to 80.2 (239-for-298).
 
That number pushes the Panthers up to second in the Horizon League and fifth in the nation. The league has three of the top six free throw shooting teams in the nation in Purdue Fort Wayne (80.3), MKE (80.2), and Green Bay (80.1).
 
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.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
After starting every game this season, McKaela Schmelzer now holds the program record for games played with 142 and games started with 131.
 
Additionally, Schmelzer is just 25 assists from becoming the Panthers' all-time leader. Pam Bartnik (1990-94) holds the current Milwaukee record with 469 assists.
 
DOMINANT DOWN LOW
Milwaukee put together one of its best performances in the paint on Thursday, outscoring Detroit Mercy 38-26 down low.
 
The 38 points are the most since MKE also had 38 points in the paint in the season opener on November 8 against Ball State.
 
Milwaukee finished 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) in the restricted area.
 
The Panthers also outrebounded the Titans 36-23, recording their best rebounding margin since +18 in the win over Wright State on January 29. The +13 is the fifth-best rebounding margin this season for Milwaukee.
 
BALANCED SCORING
Milwaukee had four players reach double figures for the seventh time this season in the win over Detroit Mercy. Megan Walstad (18 points), McKaela Schmelzer (13), Sydney Staver (12), and Macy McGlone (10) all scored at least 10 points.
 
The seven games with at least four players in double figures already surpasses last season's output and is the most games with at least four in double digits since the Panthers accomplished the feat in nine games in 2017-18. 
 
CATCHING FIRE
Milwaukee could not miss against Robert Morris, hitting 65.9 percent of its shots which sits as the second-best mark in program history.
 
The Panthers were 13-for-20 (65 percent) in the first half and 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) after the break in the win over the Colonials.
 
The Panthers set the school record 111 games ago, knocking down 69.4 percent of their shots in a WNIT win over Northern Iowa on March 15, 2018.
 
LEAVING NO DOUBT
With the huge win over Robert Morris, the Panthers recorded back-to-back victories of at least 20 points.
 
MKE topped Wright State by 25 points before taking down RMU by 20 on Thursday.
 
It marks the first time since January of 2021 that the Panthers have won consecutive games by at least 20 points. That stretch reached four games for MKE, who opened the New Year with wins over Detroit Mercy and Purdue Fort Wayne by an average of 27.8 points per game. The Panthers totaled seven victories by at least 20 points a season ago.
 
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.
 
The Panthers are 8-4 this season when hitting at least 40 percent of their shots from the floor.
 
In the last six seasons (including this year), Milwaukee is 81-24 (.771) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 63-12 (.840).
 
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 22-53 (.293).
 
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.
 
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.