FAST FACTS
» The Panthers open conference play on Thursday evening by welcoming in in-state foe Green Bay for a 7:00 p.m. tip against the Phoenix. Last season the two sides split their conference matchups with the home team winning each bout.
» MKE will be looking for its fourth-straight home win against the Phoenix dating back to the spring semester of 2020. The team will be looking for its fifth-straight win overall this season, which would be the team's first five-game winning streak since January 29 to February 12 of 2021.
» Over its current four-game winning streak, Milwaukee has outscored opponents 309-237, for an average of +18.0 per contest. From the field, the Panthers have connected on 45.8 percent from the field, and have a +6.0 rebounding margin on the glass. Milwaukee has been passing the ball well averaging 20.75 assists per game while also recording 7.75 steals per game against McNeese, Mississippi Valley State, Edgewood, and Central Michigan.
» All Panther games will feature live stats and live audio with
Matt Menzl on the Black & Gold Network, while fans can also tune into ESPN+ for a majority of this season's contests, including all home contests. Game coverage and gameday programs for home games can all be found on MKEPanthers.com.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay, like Milwaukee, has four wins in the early going of the regular season in advance of Thursday's Horizon League opener. The Phoenix scored their first win of the season at home against Illinois State, while also recording wins over No. 22 Creighton, UMass, and No. 23 Washington State.Â
The well-balanced attack of this season's unanimous preseason favorite can come at you in multiple angles as the team has had four different players lead the team in scoring through their first six games including junior Maddy Schreiber, who has led the team in scoring in three of six contests this season.
Other leading scorers for Green Bay this season including Cassie Schlitz, Natalie McNeal, and Callie Genke, while preseason first teamer Bailey Butler has only averaged 7.2 points per game but leads the Phoenix with 24 assists. Only eight players have played in all six of Green Bay's games this season, while the team has gone with the same starting lineup all year with Butler, McNeal, Schlitz, Schreiber, and Jasmine Kondrakiewicz.
The Phoenix have been towards the top of the league in terms of defensive statistics and are currently second in the conference allowing just 60.2 points per game, only Youngstown State is better at this juncture as the Penguins have yielded just 59.7 points per game.Â
SERIES HISTORY / LAST MEETING
Since joining Division I, the Panthers are 17-55 in their meetings with Green Bay dating back to the 1990-91 campaign, with 10 of those wins coming at the Klotsche Center, including each of the last three home games dating back to February 8, 2020.
Last season the teams split their season series with the Panthers winning on December 1 by a 59-52 margin, before falling at the Kress Center by a 58-40 score.Â
During the team's home win in December 2022, the Panthers shot 41.5 percent from the field as
Megan Walstad led the team in scoring with 15 points, while
Emma Wittmershaus had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Kendall Nead also scored in double figures with 10 points on the effort. Defensively, the Panthers held Green Bay to just 36.7 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent from three as Maddy Schreiber was the only Phoenix in double figures with 10 points.
In the return trip, Milwaukee was cold from the floor and made just 30.6 percent from the floor including 1-for-7 in the fourth quarter. Wittmershaus led the team with 10 points, while Walstad had nine rebounds to lead the way. The team was only able to score 40 points for the game, which proved to be a season low.
MEETING No. 100
Thursday will be the 100th all-time meeting between Milwaukee and Green Bay, dating back to their pre-Division I matchups. Their first-ever meeting came back on February 15, 1975, when Milwaukee knocked off Green Bay by a 56-32 score.
Green Bay is Milwaukee's most common opponent with 99 all-time meetings, while UIC (67, including this season's November 12 matchup) and Wright State (66), along with Cleveland State (65), and Detroit Mercy (65) are next in line in terms of Milwaukee's most familiar logos.
SWEET 17
For the first time in a regulation game, the Milwaukee Panthers connected on 17 three-pointers in a single game during Saturday's win over Central Michigan. It was the first time the Panthers had 17 in a single contest since December 4, 2012, when the team also had 17 in a double-overtime matchup against Bradley.
Milwaukee's previous mark for three-pointers in a regulation game was 16 on November 18, 2014, at North Dakota, while it was Milwaukee's most three-pointers in a home game in regulation since December 31, 2010, against Wright State with 15. Under
Kyle Rechlicz, the team's most three-pointers in a home regulation game, prior to Saturday, was 14 against Cleveland State on February 11, 2017.
WISCONSIN, FREE THROW CAPITAL OF THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Green Bay and Milwaukee are the top two free-throw shooting teams in the Horizon League with the Phoenix connecting on 83.8 percent from the line and Milwaukee second in the conference at 79.8 percent from the stripe. Wright State is in third at 77.3 percent, while Robert Morris (74.4 percent) and Cleveland State (73.1 percent) round out the top-five.
20/20 VISION
Milwaukee has had its leading scorer score at least 20 points for the last six games, including
Kamy Peppler against UIC (25),
Kendall Nead against Louisiana Monroe (21), and McNeese (38),
Jorey Buwalda against Mississippi Valley (20), Nead again against Edgewood (20), and
Anna Lutz versus Central Michigan (23).
It's the first time Milwaukee has had a leading scorer reach at least 20 points over a six-game stretch since the 2015-16 season, when Milwaukee had it happen in eight consecutive games. From mid-February to early March, Jenny Lindner had 23 points for Milwaukee versus Youngstown State, followed by Steph Kostowicz against Valparaiso (27), and UIC (24), Sierra Ford-Washington led Milwaukee against Northern Kentucky (24), and Wright State (26), followed by Lindner and Kostowicz with 32 each against Oakland, Lindner against Detroit Mercy (20), in postseason play against Wright State (31).
DONALDSON'S ATR
With six assists and no turnover in Saturday's win over Central Michigan,
Jada Donaldson now has a 3.09 assist/turnover ratio this season and leads all Horizon League players. That number is well above her career average of 2.0 assists to turnovers, with 134 assists and 67 turnovers in 78 career games.
Donaldson is 30th in all of Division I with her 3.09 assist/turnover ratio, as the national leader is Jenna Annecchiarico at the College of Charleston with a 9.25 (37 assists/4 turnovers).Â
Milwaukee as a team has a 1.00 assist/turnover ratio (123 assists/123 turnovers), which is fourth-best in the Horizon League and 82nd in the nation. Green Bay leads the conference with a 1.68 assist/turnover ratio with 104 assists against 62 turnovers.
UNIFORM BREAKDOWN
When wearing the following uniform combinations, Milwaukee's record is as follows…Gold: 2-1; Black: 1-1; Grey: 1-1
WEEKLY HONORS
On Monday, the Horizon League recognized its student-athletes of the week honorees with Milwaukee represented for the first time in the three weeks of reporting. Earning Freshman of the Week honors was newcomer
Jorey Buwalda, who helped the Panthers to a 2-0 mark with wins over Edgewood and Central Michigan.
This week Buwalda shot 72.7 percent from the field with eight makes in 11 attempts including the first three pointer of her career on Saturday against the Chippewas. She averaged 21 minutes per game and pulled down 12 rebounds on the week while also picking up one assist and two steals. From the free throw line, Buwalda went unblemished in two attempts.
ONLY THE THIRD
During the team's win against host McNeese at the Multi-Team Event in Lake Charles, Louisiana, junior
Kendall Nead scored 38 points for a career-best, while also becoming just the third difference Panther to score at least 38 points in a game.
All-Time leading scorer Traci Edwards reached 38 twice in her career, including the program record of 45 in February 2008, Edwards also scored 42 points in January 2007. Andrea Filipek in January 1999 was the only other Panther to reach 38+ points in a game.
THE RECORD TYING-SHOT
Kendall Nead not only scored 38 points in the November 17 win over McNeese, but she did so on 17 field goals as she tied the single-game record for field goals made in a game. Nead finished the game 17-for-23 from the field with three of those coming from three-point range including her final two makes with 7:32 and 7:03 left in the fourth quarter. Traci Edwards held the top spot alone since January of 2007 as the only player to score 17 field goals in a game prior to Nead.
Nead's 23 attempts were also the third-most in a game, while her shooting percentage was also third-best among the now five players all time to score at least 14 field goals in a game. Avyanna Young shot 15-for-19 (78.9%), while Maria Viall was 14-for-18 (77.7%), Nead slots into third at 73.9%, followed by Jenny Lindner at 14-for-24 (58.3%), and Traci Edwards at 17-for-33 (53.5%). No player in Milwaukee history has ever ended a game with 16 field goals made.
BUWALDA'S BREAKOUT
Thrust into a starting position at the McNeese Multi-Team Event,
Jorey Buwalda enjoyed success as she averaged a double-double over the team's three-game stretch. Buwalda scored 10.7 points per game and averaged a team-best 11.7 rebounds per contest in helping Milwaukee to a 2-1 week in Louisiana.
Buwalda began the weekend with nine rebounds against Louisiana Monroe before pulling down a season-best 14 in the team's convincing win over host McNeese. She followed that up with the first double-double of her career with 20 points and 12 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State including the first six points of the game for the Panthers in the Saturday matchup.
During the double-double performance against the Devilettes, Buwalda went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, which was three shy of the Panther freshman record of 11 set by Courtney Lindfors in November 2010, when she went 11-for-15 in the team's road win over Chicago State.
EIGHTY-EIGHT IS PRETTY GREAT
In the team's 88-67 win over McNeese on November 17, Milwaukee scored its highest point total since the Panthers scored 90 points on February 23, 2018, against Detroit Mercy. The performance over McNeese was also Milwaukee's highest road point total since the team also scored 88 at UIC on January 5, 2017.
A HELPING HAND
With 27 assists during the team's win over McNeese, Milwaukee had the most assists in a single game since the team recorded its program record of 31 set back in December 2012 against Bradley in double overtime.
The last time Milwaukee had at least 27 assists in a regulation game came back in 2000, when the Panthers had 28 against Central Michigan in December of that year. The team also had 28 assists against Chicago State in January of 2000, while the only other time Milwaukee had 27 assists in a game came back in January of 1991, during its inaugural Division I season against Northeastern Illinois.
KAMY FOR THREE
Thus far through team's first seven games,
Kamy Peppler is leading the Horizon League with an average of 3.0 three-point field goals per game. Peppler has had two performances with six three-pointers including the team's home opener against UIC, where she also set a new career high in points with 25, while she also had six three-point baskets against McNeese for 22 points.
Peppler is eighth in the Horizon League in scoring as she is averaging 14.6 points per game through Milwaukee's matchups this year.
AT THE LINE FOR MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee is second in the Horizon League and 22nd in NCAA Division I this season in free throw percentage, connecting on 79.8 percent from the charity stripe.
The Panthers are led by Horizon League leader
Angie Cera, who is 21-for-21 on the young season.
Jorey Buwalda is 14-for-15 on the year from the line including her 8-for-8 performance against Mississippi Valley State, while
Kamy Peppler has connected on 13-of-16 from the line and is slightly above the team average.
Jada Donaldson is 5-for-5,
Grace Crowley is 2-for-2, and
Vanessa Jurewicz is 1-for-1 through the first few weeks of the season.
TOP-10 IN MINUTES
Milwaukee has been able to rely heavily on its veteran leaders to help lead the way with four players averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Jada Donaldson and
Kamy Peppler lead Milwaukee at 33.3 minutes per game, followed by
Angie Cera (31.9 MPG), and
Kendall Nead (30.4 MPG).
NEAD'S SEASON-OPENING MARK
With 18 points in the team's season opener at Wisconsin, Milwaukee's junior guard scored the most points for a Panther in a season opener since Jamie Reit scored 31 points in the team's overtime win over Parkside to begin the 2019-20 season. A year prior, Reit connected on 21 points in the team's two-point loss to Indiana for the last time a Panther had at least 18 points in a regulation season opener.
CROWLEY'S JUNIOR RECORD
Last season, then-junior
Grace Crowley connected on 57.4 percent from the field. With that mark, Crowley set a new program record for shooting percentage as a junior in Milwaukee history. The previous mark was held by Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famer, Maria Viall, who recorded a 57.3 field goal percent as a junior.
THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
The college basketball world welcomed a newcomer to the 1,000-point club on Tuesday evening, as junior
Vanessa Jurewicz scored her 1,000th career point against the Badgers with 1:41 left in the game.
Jurewicz entered her Milwaukee career with 998 career points, with 79 points at her first college at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 2020-21, before adding 919 over the past two seasons at McCook Community College in Nebraska.
AND YOU ARE…?
Milwaukee's non-conference slate will feature 11 total contests including five at home, as well as six first-time opponents.
Milwaukee will play three new faces at the McNeese State Tournament, including Louisiana Monroe (Nov. 16), host McNeese State (Nov. 17), and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 18). The team will also take on Edgewood at home on November 21.
In December, the Panthers will welcome two new opponents to the Klotsche Center as St. Thomas (Minn.) pays a visit on December 7, while Viterbo will close out non-conference play on December 20.
SPANNING THE REGION…AND THE GLOBE
This season Milwaukee has eight student-athletes from the state of Wisconsin, while the team has two players from both Illinois and Iowa, with one student-athlete hailing from Ohio.
In addition to the 13 Panthers from the United States, Milwaukee will be represented by three international students as returner
Lior Halevi (Israel) is joined by
Vanessa Jurewicz (Sweden), and
Izzy Pugh (New Zealand).
This will be the first time in Milwaukee Division I history, that the Panthers have more than one international student-athletes on its roster for any season.
PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was selected to finish sixth in the 2023-24 preseason poll as announced by the Horizon League in mid-October. The Panthers received 59 points and were just four points out of the top-five.
In addition to the team being selected in sixth,
Kendall Nead was named to the Preseason All-League Second Team. Nead finished last year as Milwaukee's returning scorer as she averaged 11.1 points per game with a team-best 334 points in 2022-23. Nead also connected on 41.4 percent from the floor, while adding 26 three-pointers of her team-best 138 field goals made.
Nead added 133 rebounds, 46 assists, 17 steals, and seven blocks as she was one of just two Panthers to start in all 30 games of the season for MKE.
OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
The Panthers recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in nine of their last 18 contests in 2022-23 and made the most of their chances. In that span during 2022-23 Milwaukee totaled 161 second-chance points.
The Panthers got off to a start just as well in 2023-24, with double-digit offensive boards in five of their first seven games including a season-best 19 against Louisiana Monroe on November 16. Thus far on the season, Milwaukee has scored 87 second-chance points including a season-high 16 second-chance points against McNeese on November 17.
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.Â
In the last eight seasons, Milwaukee is 96-32 (.750) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 83-17 (.830).
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 26-70 (.271). The Panthers are 1-2 in contests this season, when shooting under 40 percent.
KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Over the past two seasons, when Milwaukee has committed 11 fouls or fewer, the Panthers are 5-1. On the contrary, the Panthers are 3-12 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
After Thursday's Horizon League opener at home against Green Bay, the Panthers will be on the road for the first time in league play with a trip to the Jungle in Indianapolis to take on IUPUI. The Panthers and Jaguars tip off at 1:00 p.m. (CT). The Panthers will be back home on Thursday, December 7, for its non-conference tilt against St. Thomas (Minn.).
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Matt Menzl returns for his eighth year as the play-by-play voice of the Panthers on the Black and Gold Network. Links for audio along with any TV coverage can be found on MKEPanthers.com. The Milwaukee women's basketball X account (@MKE_WBB) will also have live updates throughout the game.
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.Â
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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
