MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee wraps up its final three-game homestand of the season on Monday afternoon, when the Panthers welcome the Cleveland State Vikings to the Klotsche Center at 2:00 p.m.
 
The game will be available on the both ESPN+ and Black & Gold Network, as Matt Menzl returns for his eighth season with the program, live stats will also be available at the links on MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUP
Monday, January 1 – Cleveland State at Milwaukee | Klotsche Center | Milwaukee, Wis. | 2:00 pm
 
QUICK LINKS
Live Stats: mkepanthers.com/coverage
ESPN+: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Black & Gold Network: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Follow Along (On X): @MKE_WBB
Tickets: mkepanthers.com/tickets
Game Program: mkepanthers.com/programs
 
FAST FACTS
» Milwaukee welcomes in Cleveland State to the Klotsche Center for a 2:00 pm start on Monday, January 1 to kick off a new calendar year. The Panthers are looking to improve upon their 36-29 all-time mark against the Vikings but have currently lost five in a row to CSU including all three meetings last year.
» The Panthers had their brief two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon as the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons were able to score the final 12 points of their conference meeting to win by a 65-55 margin. Kendall Nead led the Panthers with 21 points while Jada Donaldson added a season-best 14. Anna Lutz secured double digits in rebounding for the second-straight contest, with a career-best 11 against the Mastodons.
» Cleveland State enters Monday's contest at 11-3 overall with a 2-1 mark in Horizon League games following an 85-72 loss to Green Bay. The Vikings trailed by two at halftime but were outscored 22-13 in the third quarter as the Phoenix pulled away. Mickayla Perdue led the way for the Vikings with 23 points, while Colbi Maples played 39 minutes and potted 19 points with a team-best seven assists. Sixty-two of Cleveland State's 72 points were scored by its starting lineup.
» 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 VIKINGS
Cleveland State makes its way to Milwaukee following an 85-72 loss to Green Bay on Saturday, the loss dropped CSU to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the Horizon League. The two other Cleveland State losses have come to Bowling Green in its season opener, and Iowa on December 16.

The Vikings are the top offense in the Horizon League, and 50th in Division I, with an average of 77.4 points per game and are second in the conference in scoring margin at +12.1 per game. Cleveland State is the top three-point shooting team in the Horizon connecting on 38.4 percent from beyond the arc but allow their share of threes yielding 34.6 percent from the floor (10th of 11 teams). CSU crashes the boards well at 37.9 rebounds per game (2nd in Horizon) and are also second in the league in taking care of the ball with a 3.57 turnover margin.

Colbi Maples has been a vital addition to the Cleveland State roster after two seasons at Grambling State, as the Arkansas-native has averaged 17.1 points per game and is also the team leader in both assists with 57 and steals with 25. Senior Mickayla Perdue is right next to Maples among the conference leaders in scoring with 14.1 points per game, while she also is among the top-125 in the nation in her three-point shooting this season with 27 makes thus far on the season from beyond the arc.

Hartford transfer Carmen Villalobos from Spain is sixth in the league in rebounding averaging 6.9 boards per game, while local Wisconsin product Jordana Reisma has started in every game along with Maples and Villalobos and is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game, while also leading the team with 17 blocks this season.

SERIES HISTORY / LAST MEETING
One of Milwaukee's most familiar foes in terms of all-time meetings, the Panthers and Vikings have met 65 times with MKE going 36-29 against CSU over that span.

Currently the Vikings are on their longest winning-streak all-time against the Panthers having won the last five meetings including all three bouts last season. Milwaukee's last win against Cleveland State came back on January 16, 2021, as MKE swept the two-game in two-day stretch during the altered COVID campaign.

The Panthers are 22-9 in home games against the Vikings, which includes 10 wins of the last 12 matchups in the Cream City.

In their most recent meeting, which came back on March 2, 2023, at the Wolstein Center, Cleveland State ended Milwaukee's season in the Horizon League Quarterfinals. Senior Megan Walstad for Milwaukee refused to let her career end as she spurred the seventh-seeded Panthers on with a 30-point, 11-rebound performance, but it was ultimately the two seed Cleveland State to come out on top by a 65-52 score.

FOURTEEN FOR TEN
Reaching double figures in scoring for the first 14 games of the season, Kendall Nead has put together the longest run of double-digit scoring performances since former teammate Megan Walstad had a stretch of 14 games during the 2021-22 season from January 8 to February 24.

Nead has scored at least 10 points through the team's first 14 games, which had not been done to open a year since the 2017-18 season when Steph Kostowicz also opened the year with 14 consecutive games in double-figure scoring. The previous mark before Kostowicz was a 15-game stretch by Ashley Green, when she began her 2014-15 season with 15-straight games of double-digit scoring, which was also the last time a Panther had scored double digits in 15-straight games.

Kostowicz had a stretch of 23 consecutive games with double-digit scoring, however that spanned over two seasons from the final nine games of 2016-17, through the initial 14 contests of 2017-18.

HISTORIC NIGHT VERSUS THE V-HAWKS
Milwaukee blitzed the Viterbo V-Hawks on December 20, recording a 100-37 victory in its non-conference finale at the Klotsche Center. The 63-point scoring margin was the largest margin of victory for the team in Division I program history, with the previous mark coming on February 2, 2002, against Youngstown State, when the Panthers won by a 100-46 score.

The 100-point mark for Milwaukee was the first time the Panthers had reached the century mark in a regulation contest since the dual with Youngstown State at home in 2002. In the showing against the Penguins, Milwaukee connected on a then program record of 14 three-pointers, while this time around against the V-Hawks the Panthers only had six three-pointers, while making 39-of-69 from the field overall.

The 39 field goals tied the program record of makes in a regulation contest, set back in the team's inaugural Division I season, when the team also made 39 against Northeastern Illinois on January 22, 1991. The overall program record is 46, during a double-overtime matchup against Bradley on December 4, 2012.

The defense stood up against the Viterbo offense, yielding just 37 points the fewest since the February 23, 2023, matchup at home against Purdue Fort Wayne that saw Milwaukee win by a 64-34 score. In that game, Milwaukee held the Mastodons to just 11 points in the first half to set a new program record, the Panthers nearly tied that mark as MKE allowed just 12 first-half points to Viterbo on December 20.

NEAD'S SECOND-HALF SUCCESSES
With 11 points in the second half of the team's matchup vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, Kendall Nead has now scored 145 of her 263 points in the second half of games this season. Nead has upped her performance with more second half than first half points in nine of the team's first 14 games this year, including a 10-point improvement (eight in the first half, 18 in the second) against St. Thomas on December 7.

During the first half of games this year Nead has shot 44.8 percent (52-of-116) and has upped that mark in crunch time to 46.8 percent (58-of-124) in the second halves.

WEEKLY HONORS
Kendall Nead earned her first career Horizon League Player of the Week honor this past Monday, as she recorded a double-double in the team's win over Eastern Illinois. Nead finished the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while also adding two steals, a block, and an assist in the team's seven-point win over the Panthers of EIU.

On November 27, 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 shot 72.7 percent from the field with eight makes in 11 attempts. 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.

SWEET 17
For the first time in a regulation game, the Milwaukee Panthers connected on 17 three-pointers in a single game during the team's win over Central Michigan on November 25. 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 was 14 against Cleveland State on February 11, 2017.

AT THE LINE FOR MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee is third in the Horizon League and 23rd in NCAA Division I this season in free throw percentage, connecting on 78.0 percent from the charity stripe.

The Panthers are led by Horizon League leader Angie Cera, who is 28-for-28 on the season. Jorey Buwalda is 29-for-32 on the year from the line. Grace Crowley is 11-for-13, while Jada Donaldson is 10-for-12, and Anna Lutz are both is 7-for-9 and right around team average.

DONALDSON'S ATR
With two assists and no turnovers against Purdue Fort Wayne, Jada Donaldson now has a 3.00 assist/turnover ratio this season and is second in the Horizon League. That number is well above her career average of 2.05 assists to turnovers, with 148 assists and 72 turnovers in 85 career games.

Donaldson is 19th in all of Division I with her 3.00 assist/turnover ratio, as the national leader is Rori Harmon at Texas with a 6.64 (93 assists/14 turnovers).

Milwaukee as a team has a 0.98 assist/turnover ratio (238 assists/243 turnovers), which is third-best in the Horizon League and 96th in the nation. Green Bay leads the conference with a 1.68 assist/turnover ratio.

TOPS IN MINUTES
Milwaukee has been able to rely heavily on its veteran leaders to help lead the way with four players averaging 30 minutes or more per game. Jada Donaldson leads the team at 32.2 minutes per game followed closely by Kamy Peppler at 32.1 minutes per game. Kendall Nead is third on the team at 31.3 minutes per contest, while Angie Cera also averages 30.9 minutes per game. All four Panthers are in the top-11 in the Horizon League in minutes per game.

KAMY FOR THREE
Thus far through team's first 14 games, Kamy Peppler is second in the Horizon League with an average of 2.1 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 14th in the Horizon League in scoring as she is averaging 11.9 points per game this year.

20/20 VISION
Milwaukee had its leading scorer score at least 20 points during the team's six-game stretch from November 12-25, 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).

NEAD'S NIGHT IN LOUISIANA
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.

Nead connected on 17 field goals against McNeese as she tied the single-game record for field goals made in a game. She 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.

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.

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.

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 this season, with double-digit offensive boards in seven of their first 14 games including a season-best 20 against Viterbo on December 20. Milwaukee has scored 155 second chance points this year, including a season-high 22 second-chance points against Viterbo.

This season Milwaukee has earned more second-chance points than their opponents in eight of their 14 matchups during the 2023-24 season.

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.

In the last eight seasons, Milwaukee is 99-35 (.739) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 85-18 (.825).

When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 26-71 (.268). The Panthers are 1-3 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 7-1. On the contrary, the Panthers are 4-13 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.

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.

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.

WHAT'S ON TAP?
The Panthers head on the road for the first full weekend of Horizon League play in 2024. Milwaukee will take on Wright State at 6:00 pm (CT) on January 5, before visiting Northern Kentucky on January 7 for a 1:00 pm (CT) start. MKE returns to the Klotsche Center for an 11:00 a.m. School Day game against Robert Morris on January 11.

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.

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.