MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Milwaukee hits the road for the final two regular season games of the season beginning with a 6:00 pm CT contest against Cleveland State on Thursday, February 24. The game can be found on ESPN+ and will also feature live stats and live audio with Matt Menzl on the call on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has put together an impressive season behind the top-scoring offensive in the Horizon League, averaging 71.9 points per contest.
 
The Vikings have won three straight including two wins over Detroit Mercy this past weekend and currently sit in fourth place in the Horizon League with a 13-5 record.
 
Destiny Leo leads the high-scoring offense with a league-best 18.7 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 90.5 percent from the free throw line.
 
Nadia Dumas is a threat down low, averaging 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor. Dumas also averages 1.3 blocks per contest.
 
The Vikings also boast the title as the best rebounding team in the league, averaging 41.3 rebounds per game including 13.2 per game on the offensive end.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Cleveland State shot 50 percent from three-point range in the second half and used a big fourth quarter run to top Milwaukee 66-57 earlier this season on January 16. Gabriella Smith led the Vikings with 15 points while Megan Walstad scored 18 to lead MKE.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Despite dropping the most recent matchup, Milwaukee has won three of the last four contests against Cleveland State and own a 36-25 all-time record against the Vikings. CSU does hold the advantage on its home court, going 15-12 against MKE in Ohio.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers wrap up the regular season at Purdue Fort Wayne, taking on the Mastodons on Saturday, February 26 at 1:00 pm CT.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus combined for 28 points in the second half to help Milwaukee erase a double-digit halftime deficit and top Green Bay 50-48 on Monday night.
 
SECOND HALF SURGE
Milwaukee had one of its best comebacks in program history against Green Bay, erasing a 16-point deficit.
 
It matched the fifth-largest deficit overcome for the Panthers, also recovering from 16-point deficits on January 20, 1992 against UMKC and on December 18, 2011 against Toledo.
 
The Panthers' 13-point halftime deficit matched the third largest overcome in school history, also recovering from that margin in a win at UIC on March 1, 2007.  
 
TWIN TOWERS
Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus were unstoppable in the second half of Monday's win over Green Bay. The two combined for 28 points to fuel the come-from-behind victory.
 
Walstad ended the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds, marking her eighth double-double of the season.
 
Wittmershaus finished the game 7-for-12 with a career-high 20 points. The 6-3 forward matched her career-high with three triples, going 3-for-3 from downtown.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
With just two regular season games remaining, the Panthers are nearly locked into the sixth seed for the Horizon League Tournament.
 
If Milwaukee wins two and Northern Kentucky loses two, the Panthers could move up to the fifth seed. NKU faces Oakland and Detroit Mercy.
 
If the Panther lose two, they could drop to the seventh seed if Oakland wins both remaining contests.
 
If MKE goes 1-1, the sixth seed will likely hold.
 
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.
 
SECOND HALF SPARK
Megan Walstad has been dynamic in the last three games, particularly in the second half.
 
In the final 20 minutes of the last three games combined, Walstad is 13-for-26 from the floor and 11-for-12 from the free throw line, totaling 37 points.
 
BLOCK PARTY
The Panthers have been racking up the blocks lately, totaling 17 in the last three contests.
 
MKE recorded five blocks in a win over Green Bay following a season-high seven against UIC.
 
Megan Walstad has accounted for eight of those blocks including a career-high five against IUPUI. Emma Wittmershaus totaled a career-high four blocks against UIC and has five total in the three-game stretch.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
After starting every game this season, McKaela Schmelzer now holds the program record for games played with 144 and games started with 133.
 
Additionally, Schmelzer is just 20 assists from becoming the Panthers' all-time leader. Pam Bartnik (1990-94) holds the current Milwaukee record with 469 assists.
 
1K CLUB COMPLETE
With a season-high 26 points against Oakland, 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.
 
WALSTAD WORKIN'
Megan Walstad continued her tear on Monday, totaling 14 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Green Bay.
 
It marks the 13th straight double-digit performance for Walstad, who has put together another impressive season for the Panthers and is among the league leaders in multiple categories.

• 15.0 points per game (7th)
• 8.7 rebounds per game (4th)
• 49.5 field goal percentage (3rd)
• 88.8 free throw percentage (3rd)
• 1.6 blocks per game (3rd) 

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 25 games and combine for 24.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 3.2 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 46-for-53 (86.8 percent) from the line the last three games, improving the season percentage to 80.2 (263-for-328).
 
That number pushes the Panthers to third in the Horizon League and sixth in the nation. The league has three of the top seven free throw shooting teams in the nation in Purdue Fort Wayne (80.5), Milwaukee (80.2), and Green Bay (79.5).
 
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.
 
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 82-24 (.771) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 64-12 (.840).
 
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 23-53 (.302).
 
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.