MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Fresh off one of the best offensive performances in program history, the Milwaukee women's basketball team welcomes the league's best record to the Klotsche Center in Youngstown State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Saturday. The afternoon contest also marks the annual "Pink Out Game" as Milwaukee raises money for Chix4ACause. 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 PENGUINS
Youngstown has lost two straight including a double-overtime heartbreaker to Green Bay on Thursday night. Despite the losses, the Penguins still sit on top of the Horizon League with a 12-3 mark in Horizon League play.
 
Defense has been key for YSU, leading the league with just 56.3 points allowed per game. The Penguins are holding the opposition to just 36.7 percent from the floor and 26.5 percent from three-point range.
 
Transfer Lilly Ritz has been a huge part of YSU's success, leading the team and ranking in the league's top five for points per game (17.4) and rebounds per game (9.4).
 
Ever since she stepped foot on campus in 2017-18, Chelsea Olson has been a major factor and this year is no different. Olson is averaging 10.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. She's been close to a few triple-doubles this season including putting up 12 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds in a win over Detroit Mercy on January 28.
 
YSU is also dangerous from three-point range with five different players hitting at least 20 triples this year. Paige Shy has knocked down a team-high 37 three-pointers while Malia Magestro has hit 36 and is shooting 40 percent from deep.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee shot just 26.7 percent from the floor as it fell 58-50 at Youngstown State. The Panthers were held to just three points in the second quarter. Megan Walstad led with 16 points for MKE.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has dominated the all-time series against Youngstown State, winning 31 of 49 matchups. It has been much more even as of late, with the teams splitting the last 10 contests. MKE is 17-6 against Youngstown at home.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers head to Green Bay for a 7:00 pm contest on Monday, February 7.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Behind the second-best shooting percentage in school history, Milwaukee toppled Robert Morris 68-48 at the Klotsche Center.
 
CATCHING FIRE
Milwaukee could not miss on Thursday night, 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 on Thursday, the Panthers now have 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.
 
WALSTAD WORKIN'
It was a monster game on Thursday for Megan Walstad, who recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The redshirt sophomore is on fire as of late, reaching double figures in six straight games.  She's put together another impressive season for the Panthers and is among the league leaders in multiple categories.

• 14.4 points per game (9th)
• 8.9 rebounds per game (4th)
• 47.7 field goal percentage (4th)
• 87.9 free throw percentage (3rd)
• 1.5 blocks per game (t-3rd)

FINDING THE RANGE
Sydney Staver has been dialed in as of late and Thursday was no different. The graduate student poured in a season-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting including a 3-for-3 performance from long range.
 
Staver has hit at least three triples in three of the last five games, going 12-for-24 during that stretch.
 
She has hit at least one three-pointer in 14 games including each of the last eight contests and leads MKE with 24 triples.
 
NEAR PERFECT
McKaela Schmelzer knocked down all three of her attempts on Thursday and has been incredibly efficient over the last two games.
 
In the last two victories, Schmelzer is 10-for-11 including 6-for-7 from three-point range. She is averaging 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in that stretch.
 
Schmelzer is currently averaging 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, both career highs.
 
A HELPING HAND
The Panthers set a new season-high with 20 assists in the win over Robert Morris on Thursday.
 
Milwaukee now has at least 19 assists in three of the last four games and at least 12 in seven games straight.
 
The Panthers are averaging 16.7 assists during that stretch, nearly three more than the full season average.
 
MKE ranks third in the league with 13.8 assists per game.
 
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 6-1 this season when hitting at least 40 percent of their shots from the floor. The only loss came at IUPUI on January 8.
 
In the last six seasons (including this year), Milwaukee is 79-21 (.790) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 61-9 (.871).
 
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 22-53 (.293).
 
CASHING IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Milwaukee continues to rank among the best free throw shooting teams in the nation, currently sitting fourth in NCAA Division I.
 
The Panthers are 199-for-248 at the charity stripe this season, a percentage of 80.2. MKE trails only Iowa (84.9 percent), Iowa State (81.1 percent), and Green Bay (80.7 percent) in the national rankings.
 
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
With six boards on December 30 against Oakland, Megan Walstad eclipsed 500 for her career, becoming the 28th player in program history to reach that milestone.
 
It marks the third straight season a Panthers' player reached 500 with Brandi Bisping accomplishing the feat in 2020-21 and Lizzie Odegard hitting the mark in 2019-20. Bisping finished with 597 for her career while Odegard totaled 578 rebounds.
 
In addition to reaching 500 career rebounds, Walstad is just 71 points away from becoming the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Walstad is averaging 11.9 points per game in her three seasons so far.
 
McKaela Schmelzer now holds the program record for games played with 137, surpassing Alyssa Fischer, who appeared in 134 games from 2015-20. Sydney Staver is also moving up on that list, having appeared in 126 career contests.
 
Schmelzer also became the program's all-time leader for games started with 125, surpassing Jenny Lindner (2014-18). With 39 more assists, Schmelzer could surpass Pam Bartnik (1990-94) for most career assists in Panthers' history.
 
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.