MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team heads to Purdue Fort Wayne to wrap up the regular season schedule. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm CT. 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.
 
Milwaukee currently holds the sixth seed for the Keeps Horizon League Championships and are locked in to hosting a first-round game on Tuesday, March 1 at 7:00 pm. The Panthers final seed and opponent is to be determined.
 
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne currently sits ninth in the Horizon League with a 7-13 record and regardless of what happens on Saturday, will head to the eighth seed for the Horizon League Tournament which begins on Tuesday, March 1.
 
The Mastodons average 60.7 points per game, which is eighth in the league, but excel at the three-point and free-throw lines.
 
PFW ranks third in the Horizon League with a percentage of 32.6 from deep and is just one of two teams to hit at least 200 three-pointers.
 
The Mastodons lead the league and are third in the nation with a free throw percentage of 80.8. Purdue Fort Wayne is 210-for-260 this season.
 
Sylare Starks and Shayla Sellers are a solid one-two punch for PFW, averaging 12.1 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. The two have combined for 97 three-pointers, each shooting at least 36 percent from deep.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Four players reached double figures as Milwaukee outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 41-31 in the second half for a 68-56 victory on January 14. The Panthers finished 22-for-25 from the free throw line and were led by McKaela Schmelzer with 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have dominated the all-time series against Purdue Fort Wayne, winning seven of nine matchups dating back to the 2003-04 season. MKE has won six in a row over PFW.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers will host the first round of the Keeps Horizon League Championships on Tuesday, March 1. Tipoff is set for 7:00 pm.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Turnovers hurt Milwaukee on Thursday night and Cleveland State capitalized to hand the Panthers a 67-55 setback at the Wolstein Center.
 
RACKING UP THE REBOUNDS
Megan Walstad was all over the boards against Cleveland State, pulling in a career-high 19 rebounds.
 
In the first quarter alone, Walstad pulled in 11 including seven on the offensive end. She finished with 12 offensive boards.
 
The 19 rebounds mark the most in a game for the Panthers since Steph Kostowicz pulled in 20 on December 3, 2015.
 
It is tied for the eight-most rebounds in a game in program history and the 12 offensive boards is the most by a Panther ever.
 
NEAD FOR THREE!
Kendall Nead came off the bench and provided a spark with a career-high 15 points for the Panthers on Thursday.
 
Nead finished 3-for-5 from long range, hitting all three triples in the second quarter.
 
This season, Nead ranks fourth on the team with 18 three-pointers, shooting 31 percent from long range.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
With just one regular season games remaining, the Panthers' are nearly locked into the sixth seed for the Keeps Horizon League Championships.
 
With a win, Milwaukee will secure the No. 6 seed and will host the No. 11 seed on Tuesday, March 10.
 
If the Panthers lose and Oakland wins against Wright State, Milwaukee would drop to the No. 7 seed and would host the No. 10 seed.
 
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.
 
AWARDS SEASON
Megan Walstad pulled in her first award of the season as she was one of five named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team. There were 29 individuals nominated for the honor.
 
She holds a 3.94 GPA in her double major of marketing and psychology.
 
SECOND HALF SPARK
Once again, Megan Walstad found her groove in the second half. The redshirt sophomore finished 5-for-8 with 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists after the break against Cleveland State.
 
In the final 20 minutes of the last four games combined, Walstad is 18-for-34 (52.9 percent) and 11-for-12 from the free throw line, totaling 47 points.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
After starting every game this season, McKaela Schmelzer now holds the program record for games played with 145 and games started with 134.
 
Additionally, Schmelzer is just 19 assists from becoming the Panthers' all-time leader. Pam Bartnik (1990-94) holds the current Milwaukee record with 469 assists.
 
WALSTAD WORKIN'
With 15 points and 19 rebounds against Cleveland State, Megan Walstad continued her tear.
 
It marks the 14th straight double-digit performance for Walstad and second consecutive double-double performance. She now has nine double-doubles this season, matching her season total from a season ago.
 
Walstad has put together another impressive season for the Panthers and is among the league leaders in multiple categories.

• 15.0 points per game (7th)
• 9.1 rebounds per game (4th)
• 49.4 field goal percentage (3rd)
• 87.8 free throw percentage (3rd)
• 1.6 blocks per game (3rd)

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.  
 
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 60-for-70 (85.7 percent) from the line the last six games, improving the season percentage to 80.2 (271-for-338).
 
That number pushes the Panthers to second 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 (80.8), Milwaukee (80.2), and Green Bay (79.6).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 23.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 3.2 steals per game.
 
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.
 
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 23-54 (.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.
 
POSTSEASON PANTHERS
Milwaukee reached the postseason WNIT for the third time in program history last season and added another postseason win to the resume. The Panthers reached the second round of the tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Overall, Milwaukee is 2-3 at the postseason WNIT.
 
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.