MILWAUKEE, Wis. - With the No. 6 seed for the Keeps Horizon League Championships, Milwaukee welcomes No. 11 UIC to the Klotsche Center for a First Round contest. Tipoff is scheduled at 7:00 pm with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line. 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.
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
UIC put up a fight this last weekend but dropped close contests to both Robert Morris and Youngstown State to finished 1-20 in Horizon League play. The Flames edged Detroit Mercy for the No. 11 seed for the Keeps Horizon League Championships.
Despite the record, Jaida McCloud has been a bright spot for UIC, leading the team and ranking fifth in the Horizon league with 16.7 points per game. The sophomore is also averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds per contest and is shooting 46.9 percent from the floor.
As a team, UIC is last in the league in points per game at just 53.3. The Flames also rank
12th in the league in field goal percentage
(36.2) and three-point percentage (26.5).
Sophomore Kristian Young has been solid for
UIC as well, ranking second with 9.5 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 4.0 assists per contest.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Four players reached double digits to help lead Milwaukee to a 65-57 win over UIC on Senior Day on February 19. The Panthers were lights out in the third quarter, shooting 75 percent (9-for-12).
Megan Walstad led MKE with 18 points and six rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee owns a 41-21 all-time series advantage over UIC and have won 14 consecutive matchups dating back to 2016. The Panthers are 23-7 at home against UIC.
WHATS ON TAP?
The next round of the Keeps Horizon League Championships will be on Thursday, March 3. Tipoff will be scheduled at 7:00 pm local time with the opponent to be determined.
LAST TIME OUT
Emma Wittmershaus knocked down two free throws with just 1.9 seconds remaining as Milwaukee held off Purdue Fort Wayne 53-51 on Saturday afternoon.
HORIZON LEAGUE HARDWARE
For the second consecutive season,
Megan Walstad collected All-Horizon League First Team and All-Defensive Team honors.
It marks the second year in a row that Walstad earned both recognitions. She joins a group of just three others in program history to earn All-League First Team on more than one occasion in the Panthers' Division I era. Traci Edwards (2005-08) earned First Team honors all four years, Maria Viall (2001-04) collected three honors, and Nichole Drummond (2004-05) was on First Team twice.
She is just the second Panther in program history to earn All-Defensive Team distinction multiple times. Nichole Luchsinger (1999-01) was named to the All-Defensive Team twice.
Earlier this year, Walstad was also 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.
PREVIEWING THE POSTSEASON
The last time Milwaukee played in the First Round of the Horizon League Tournament was in 2019-20 when the Panthers topped Oakland at home 73-65 as the No. 5 seed.
The last time Milwaukee was a No. 6 seed for the Horizon League Tournament was 2012-13. That year, the Panthers dropped a quarterfinal matchup to Loyola 71-54.
The last time Milwaukee faced UIC in the Horizon League Tournament was 2005-06. That year, MKE knocked off Loyola in the Quarterfinals and Butler in the Semifinals before taking down the Flames 71-63 in the Horizon League Championship.
If all seeds hold true, the Panthers would next head to Green Bay for a quarterfinal contest with the third-seeded Phoenix.
The final four teams will advance to Indianapolis and #REACHtheHORIZON on March 7-8 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
FINDING HER STROKE
Kendall Nead put together an impressive weekend, averaging 12.0 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 69.2 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three-point range.
Against Cleveland State, Nead was the team's leading scorer. She finished 3-for-5 from long range and 5-for-8 overall for a career-high 15 points.
In Saturday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne, Nead went 4-for-5 from the floor, scoring nine points in 14 minutes of action. She added five rebounds in the win.
This season, Nead is fourth on the team with 19 three-pointers and second with a 31.7 shooting percentage from deep.
RACKING UP THE REBOUNDS
Megan Walstad was all over the boards this weekend, hauling in 32 rebounds including a career-high 19 against Cleveland State.
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 eighth-most rebounds in a game in program history and the 12 offensive boards is the most by a Panther ever.
WITTMERSHAUS DOWN LOW
Emma Wittmershaus has imposed her size in the paint this season, ranking second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore has at least seven rebounds in three of the last four games and four of the last six contests.
Wittmershaus also added three more blocks to her total on Saturday and has eight swats in the last four games.
MILESTONE WATCH
After starting every game this season,
McKaela Schmelzer now holds the program record for games played with 146 and games started with 134.
Additionally, Schmelzer is just 16 assists from becoming the Panthers' all-time leader. Pam Bartnik (1990-94) holds the current Milwaukee record with 469 assists.
WALSTAD WORKIN'
Megan Walstad added another double-double to her total this past weekend, pushing her total to nine this season which matches her season total from a year ago.
Walstad has put together another impressive season for the Panthers and is among the league leaders in multiple categories.
- 14.7 points per game (7th)
- 9.2 rebounds per game (4th)
- 49.1 field goal percentage (3rd)
- 88.1 free throw percentage (3rd)
- 1.6 blocks per game (3rd)
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 69-for-82 (84.1 percent) from the line the last six games, improving the season percentage to 80.0 (280-for-350).
That number pushes the Panthers to second in the Horizon League and sixth in the nation. The league has three of the top eight free throw shooting teams in the nation in Purdue Fort Wayne (81.1), Milwaukee (80.0), and Green Bay (78.9).
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.
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.
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.
BALANCED SCORING
Milwaukee had four players reach double figures for the eighth time this season in the win over UIC.
Megan Walstad (18 points),
Sydney Staver (12),
Miquela Santoro (12), and
Emma Wittmershaus (11) all scored at least 10 points.
MKE is 6-2 when at least four players score in double figures.
The eight 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.
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 83-24 (.775) 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.
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.
