FAST FACTS
» After a quick stop to Indianapolis, the Panthers return home and resume non-conference play against the St. Thomas Tommies for their first-ever meeting with the Summit League member that are in their third Division I season.
» The Panthers are coming into Thursday's game off their first Horizon League win of the season against IUPUI on Sunday, in a game that saw
Kendall Nead lead the Panthers with 16 points as two other Panthers also recorded double-figures in scoring as
Anna Lutz scored 12 and
Angie Cera registered 11 points.
Jada Donaldson led the Panthers with 36 minutes played in the effort, while Nead along with
Jorey Buwalda had a team-best seven rebounds as the Panthers finished the game with a 35-26 rebounding advantage.
» Over its last six contests, Milwaukee has outscored its opponents 432-372, for an average of +10.0 per contest. From the field the Panthers have connected on 44.6 percent and have a +4.7-rebounding margin on the glass. The Panthers continue to pass the ball well with an average of 19.2 assists per game, with an average of 6.8 steals per contest over that span.
» 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 TOMMIES
One of the newest members of the NCAA's highest division, the Tommies bring a strong pedigree of success to Division I including a national championship at the NCAA Division III level in 1991. In 19 seasons at the helm of the program, which began in 2005-06, head coach Ruth Sinn has coached her alma mater to 378 wins including four 30-win seasons of her 12 20-win seasons. During the team's brief Division I run, the team has won 23 games against 43 losses.
The Tommies are entering on a four-game losing streak, with losses against UC Irvine and Butler at the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off at the University of Pacific. St. Thomas also fell at home to Iowa State before dropping a road contest this past Saturday at Western Illinois by an 82-78 margin. Jade Hill led the Tommies with 21 points on 7-of-14 from the field, while three other players reached double figures in points. Hill also led St. Thomas with six steals in the effort.
Hill is currently second on the team in scoring average this season with an average of 15.6 points per game to go along with a team-best 35 assists and 18 steals. Amber Scalia is the team's scoring leader at 16.5 points per game and has been a threat from beyond the arc with a team-best 17 makes. Both Hill and Scalia have identical 29-for-34 marks from the free throw line.
Rebounding has been a struggle for the Tommies in 2023-24 and would be in the bottom 40 of the NCAA Division I with their average of 31.88 per game. Due to St. Thomas reclassifying to Division I their statistical totals are not accounted for in the ranking process by the NCAA. Jo Langbehn leads the team in rebounds at 5.6 per game, with Jordyn Glynn second on the team with 5.0 boards per contest. Hill, Glynn, Langbehn, and Scalia have been the four consistent members of the starting lineup for the Tommies this year.
SERIES HISTORY / LAST MEETING
This will be Milwaukee's first-ever meeting with St. Thomas.
UNIFORM BREAKDOWN
When wearing the following uniform combinations, Milwaukee's record is as follows…Gold: 2-2; Black: 2-1; Grey: 1-1
FIRST CONFERENCE WIN
On Sunday, the Panthers won their first game in Horizon League play against IUPUI knocking off the Jaguars by a 70-59 score, it was the first time this season that the Panthers won a game decided between 11-15 points.
Milwaukee started the year 1-1 in Horizon League play for the seventh time in the 12 seasons under head coach
Kyle Rechlicz. Milwaukee has gone 2-0 just twice under Rechlicz including the 2021-22 season, while the Panthers have started 0-2 in its first two league games three times.
The Panthers snapped a five-game loss streak against the Jaguars with the win and are now 4-4 when playing at IUPUI in road games. The Jaguars will head to Milwaukee on February 8 later this season, as MKE will look for its first-ever win against IUPUI at the Klotsche Center in six attempts.
TOPS IN THE LEAGUE
Through the first month of the college basketball season, Milwaukee is atop the Horizon League with 155 total assists and are second in the Horizon in assists per game at 17.22.
The Panthers are also atop the league in free throw percentage at 79.8 percent with 99 makes on 124 attempts.
In total offensive rebounds, Milwaukee leads the way with 109 on the year for an average of 12.11 per game.
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.
DONALDSON'S ATR
With two assists and one turnover against IUPUI,
Jada Donaldson now has a 3.08 assist/turnover ratio this season and leads all Horizon League players. That number is well above her career average of 2.01 assists to turnovers, with 137 assists and 68 turnovers in 80 career games.
Donaldson is 22nd in all of Division I with her 3.08 assist/turnover ratio, as the national leader is Donovyn Hunter at Oregon State with a 7.67 (23 assists/3 turnovers).
Milwaukee as a team has a 0.95 assist/turnover ratio (155 assists/164 turnovers), which is fourth-best in the Horizon League and 101st in the nation. Green Bay leads the conference with a 1.59 assist/turnover ratio with 137 assists against 86 turnovers.
20/20 VISION
Milwaukee has 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).
WEEKLY HONORS
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 helped the Panthers to a 2-0 mark with wins over Edgewood and Central Michigan.
That 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.
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 nine games,
Kamy Peppler is leading the Horizon League with an average of 2.7 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 10th in the Horizon League in scoring as she is averaging 13.2 points per game through Milwaukee's matchups this year.
AT THE LINE FOR MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee is tops in the Horizon League and 14th 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 24-for-24 on the season.
Jorey Buwalda is 19-for-21 on the year from the line including her 8-for-8 performance against Mississippi Valley State, while
Kamy Peppler has connected on 13-of-17 from the line and is slightly above the team average.
Grace Crowley is 7-for-8,
Jada Donaldson is 6-for-7,
Anna Lutz is 4-for-5, 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 30 minutes or more per game.
Kamy Peppler leads the team at 33.1 minutes per game, followed closely by
Jada Donaldson with 32.9 minutes per game,
Angie Cera is third (31.6) while
Kendall Nead is fourth at 30.0 minutes per game.
All four Panthers are in the top-15 in the Horizon League in minutes per game, including Peppler, who is fourth in the Horizon League in minutes played, while she is also 147th in all of NCAA Division I.
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.
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 nine games including a season-best 19 against Louisiana Monroe on November 16. Thus far on the season, Milwaukee has scored 106 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.
In the last eight seasons, Milwaukee is 97-33 (.746) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 84-17 (.832).
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 4-12 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Following the matchup versus St. Thomas on Thursday. The team will wrap up out-of-league play with Loyola Chicago (Dec. 9), Eastern Illinois (Dec. 15), and Viterbo (Dec. 20) before playing the final 18 games of the season against conference competition.
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.
