SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State comes to Milwaukee having won two of its last three games to improve to 4-20 on the season, with a 3-14 mark in Horizon League contests.

In its most-recent game, the Raiders hosted the IUPUI Jaguars and fell by a 93-80 margin behind a 16-point performance by Lauren Scott off the bench in just 18 minutes of play. WSU had four score double-figures in the loss as Emily Chapman had 13, Kacee Baumhower potted 12 and Isabelle Bolender chipped in with 11.

On the season, Bryce Nixon leads all Raiders averaging 12.3 points per game, while Baumhower is second averaging 9.3 points per contest. The team's leading rebounder is Chapman at 3.4 boards per game, while Chapman also leads the team in assists with 57 on the year. Nixon with 25 steals and Cara VanKempen with 17 blocks lead in those respective categories.

Wright State has been averaging 64.6 points per game this year and allowing 77.5 points per game, while being outrebounded by just under 15 rebounds per game. The Raiders have been trending upward in points however, scoring at least 80 in their last three games including a conference-high 83 at Robert Morris on January 28. The team's season-high is 98 points against NAIA-member Ohio Christian.

LAST MEETING
The Panthers and Raiders met on January 7 at the Nutter Center in Ohio. Milwaukee had a bookend performance with 42 combined points in the first and fourth quarters en route to a 72-61 victory.

Milwaukee had four in double-figures on the night with Megan Walstad recording 18 points, while Kamy Peppler had 17, Kendall Nead had 16 and Emma Wittmershaus had 11 in the effort. The Panthers had 16 assists as a team including a team-best five by Jada Donaldson, while Wittmershaus had two steals, Nead had 11 rebounds and Walstad had a pair of blocks to lead the way.

Defensively, MKE struggled allowing a season-worst 10 three-pointers as the Raiders scored nearly half their points on the long ball. Emily Chapman led the way with three of the 10, while the Raiders shot 40.0 percent from the field.

SERIES HISTORY
In one of the most evenly split matchups for the Panthers in Horizon League history, MKE has won 32 while dropping 33 all-time matchups. Milwaukee is on a three-game winning streak, and have also won the last two matchups inside the Klotsche Center, 58-47 on November 18, 2021 and 60-58 on December 28, 2019.

WHATS ON TAP?
The Panthers continue its weekend at home as the team will play host to the Northern Kentucky Norse on Sunday afternoon with tipoff slated for 12 pm from the Klotsche Center.

LAST TIME OUT
For the third consecutive game a member of the Milwaukee Panther women's basketball team had a career-high in points as this time it was Jada Donaldson to score 16 to help propel the Panthers to a 62-57 win over Detroit Mercy on Sunday afternoon.

Donaldson's point total comes off the heels of Kendall Nead scoring 24 at Oakland on February 3; and Emma Wittmershaus scoring a career-best 25 points against IUPUI on January 28.

Milwaukee shot 42.6 percent from the field for the game including a game-high 47.4 percent in the third quarter as the Panthers erased a 26-25 halftime deficit and turned it into a 48-45 lead following the third quarter.

Nead got the scoring started in the third quarter to put the Panthers up by one. The Titans regained the lead before Donaldson nailed a three-pointer off a pass by Angie Cera to give MKE a two-point advantage. The lead exchanged hands 13 times in the game including seven times in the third quarter, before Donaldson knocked down a jumper with 5:18 to go in the third to put the Panthers up for good.

Kamy Peppler connected on a three-pointer to give Milwaukee some breathing room and ultimately it was Peppler to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game to that point at 43-36 with 3:20 left in the third. Detroit closed the gap late in the period to make it a three-point game heading into the final period.

In the fourth, Milwaukee got a jumper by Anna Lutz to go up by five, before Nead sank a jumper and Megan Walstad added a free throw. Cera gave Milwaukee a nine-point advantage at 55-46 but the Titans refused to go away, shrinking the Panther lead to two at 57-55 with 4:12 to go in the game.

Cera had a free throw and Nead picked up a layup to make it a two-possession game. Detroit had some late chances but were unable to convert as the Panthers held on for the five-point victory.

Cera finished the game with 14 points and three assists, while Walstad had eight points and nine rebounds with the team's lone block on the day. Nead had eight points of her own and pulled down five rebounds with one steal.

Grace Crowley had a career-best nine rebounds and had two assists and four points, while Peppler ended the game with eight points to go along with a team-best two steals and four assists.

CLIMBING THE BOARD…BOARD
With nine rebounds in back-to-back games in Michigan, Megan Walstad has now climbed into fourth place on the all-time rebound list in Milwaukee history with 830. Walstad passed Jenny Lindner in Sunday's win over Detroit, as Lindner had 826 for her career. Next on the list is Steph Kostowicz, who finished her career with 898 career rebounds.

Walstad also has 238 offensive rebounds, placing her eight on the offensive rebound list and just four behind Lindner for seventh all-time.

Defensively, Walstad has accumulated 592 rebounds and moved into third all-time on Sunday vs. Detroit Mercy. She is six shy of tying Lindsay Laur, who has 598 in second place all-time.

PASSING THE ROCK
For the second time this season this season, the Panthers had more than 20 assists in a game with 21 coming against Oakland last Friday night. It was the second time this season that MKE totaled better than 20, with a season-best 22 coming against Detroit Mercy on December 29.

The 21 assists on Friday against Oakland came on 31 made field goals, which is the first time Milwaukee registered 30 field goals since January 29, 2022, in the team's road win at Wright State. The last occurrence that the Panthers had more than 30 made field goals came on January 18, 2019 at Oakland, when Milwaukee was 32-for-64.

Against Detroit Mercy in December, the Panthers had 22 assists on 25 made field goals, the highest assist percentage (88.0) since dishing out 16 assists on 18 field goals (88.8) in a win over Chicago State on March 3, 2016.

WALSTAD'S HELPING HAND
PPlaying the inside-out game, Megan Walstad had a career-high nine assists in the team's most recent home game against IUPUI. Her previous career-high was five on several occasions in her career, most recently in the team's win at home against Detroit Mercy on December 29.

The last time a player listed on Milwaukee's roster as a center or forward and had more than five assists in one game was Steph Kostowicz, who had a dozen in the team's March 15, 2018 win over Northern Iowa. Kostowicz accomplished the feat six times during her senior season in 2017-18, and seven times in her career.

JADA SETTLING IN
Jada Donaldson led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points in Sunday's win at Detroit Mercy, which comes off the heels of a few other career-bests for the sophomore. Donaldson had a team-best seven rebounds and led all players with four offensive boards against IUPUI on January 28.

Donaldson has been putting it together as she settles into her starting role for MKE and has also had a season-high in assists (5, Jan. 12 at Wright State), steals (3, Jan. 20 vs. Robert Morris), and field goals made (7, Feb. 5 vs. Robert Morris) over the team's past eight games.

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES
The Milwaukee defense has been strong this year, but recently, the Panthers have been running out of steam in the second half.

Over the last 10 games, Milwaukee has given up an average of 39.1 points in the second half. Opponents are shooting 47.6 percent (133-of-279) from the floor and 42.7 percent (44-for-103) from three-point range over the final 20 minutes.

FINDING THE RANGE
Milwaukee has been finding its shooting range from three-point land following the holiday break.

The Panthers had shot under 31 percent in each of its first 10 games but have turned it on since playing Detroit Mercy on December 29, having connected on at least 31 percent in eight of their last 12 contests.

Over the last 11 games, Kamy Peppler is 19-for-47 (40.4 percent), while Emma Wittmershaus is also at 40.0 percent having connected on 6-of-15 from deep. Jessi Giles has also come on over the stretch connecting on 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from long range.

OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
The Panthers have recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in seven of their last 10 contests and have made the most of their chances. In that span, Milwaukee has totaled 103 second-chance points, including 19 second-chance points in the team's win over Robert Morris on January 20, and 16 on the road at Green Bay on January 26. The team had 10 second-chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds most recently in the team's win over Detroit Mercy on February 5.

COMING ALIVE IN LEAGUE PLAY
Kendall Nead has scored at least 12 points in eight of the team's last 12 conference games including a season-high 24 points in the team's games at Oakland on February 3.

In 14 Horizon League contests, Nead is averaging a team-high 13.7 points, which is currently eight among all Horizon League scorers in conference competition this season. Nead is also fourth in league play in field goal percentage at 44.1 percent within the conference.

Away from her scoring prowess, Nead has an average of 5.1 rebounds in addition to 22 assists, 10 steals and two blocks over 14 conference contests.

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 seven seasons, Milwaukee is 90-27 (.769) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 69-14 (.831).

When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 25-67 (.272). The Panthers have been held under 40 percent in 12 games this year, going 1-11 in those contests.

STRONG ON THE GLASS
The Panthers owned the rebounding battle at Wright State, on January 7, 39-19 to record their best margin of the season at plus-20. It marks the highest rebounding margin since Milwaukee was plus-22 on the glass in a 58-35 win over UIC on February 19, 2021.

DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY
The Panthers' defense continues to be a factor this season as Milwaukee ranks in the top half of the Horizon League in points allowed and field goal percentage defense.

Milwaukee is allowing 61.6 points per game through 14 league contests and holding the opposition to 38.5 percent shooting overall. In comparison, the Panthers have connected on 42.5 percent from the field over that span. From three, the Panthers have outshot their opponent's 31.0 percent to 30.4 percent in league games.

RECORD-SETTING WIN
Defense was the story in a win over Detroit Mercy on December 29, setting multiple program bests.

The Panthers held the Titans to 29 points, the lowest for an opponent in NCAA Division I history surpassing Valparaiso's 31 from February 25, 2012.

Detroit also converted just 17.5 percent of its field goals, the lowest field goal percentage for an opponent since MKE held Youngstown State to 19.4 percent on March 6, 2010.

The seven made field goals for Detroit were also an opponent program-low for the Panthers, four fewer than the previous mark.

ALL OF THE DOUBLE DIGITS
In the win over Detroit Mercy, Milwaukee had five players reach double figures. Grace Crowley led the way with 13 points while Kendall Nead (12), Anna Lutz (11), Kamy Peppler (10), and Emma Wittmershaus (10) all joined in double digits.

It marks the first time Milwaukee had at least five players with at least 10 points since February 8, 2020. That game, Jamie Reit's 13 points led the way while Bre Cera added 12, McKaela Schmelzer and Sydney Staver each had 11, and Lizzie Odegard finished with 10 in a 65-60 win over Green Bay.

Milwaukee is now 3-0 this year when at least four players reach double figures. The Panthers are 17-4 over the last five years when four or more players reach at least 10 points.

MISS BASKETBALL IN THE HOUSE
Freshman Kamy Peppler was crowned 2022 Miss Basketball for Wisconsin but it's not the first time Milwaukee has had a student-athlete with that title arrive on campus.

In fact, Megan Walstad earned that title in her home state of Minnesota after leading Eastview High School to a perfect 32-0 record as a senior.

Prior to that, just one other player in program history donned the title of Miss Basketball. Meredith Onson (2005-08) was a consensus Wisconsin Player of the year in 2002-03. Onson originally attended Boston University but transferred to Milwaukee for the 2004-05 season.

PRESEASON HONORS FOR WALSTAD
Megan Walstad was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team following another impressive campaign in 2021-22. Walstad dominated down low, earning her second straight First Team All-League award last season. She led the team and was among the league's leaders in points per game (14.4), rebounds per game (9.1), field goal percentage (48.8), free throw percentage (88.9), and blocks per game (1.5). Walstad was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.

Walstad joined a group of just three others in program history to earn All-League First Team honors on more than one occasion in the Panthers' Division I era and is just the second in MKE history to earn All-Defensive Team distinction multiple times.

Additionally, Walstad was one of 25 players to be named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason Watch List.

MILESTONE WATCH
Megan Walstad's name is already all over the Milwaukee record books but she has the opportunity to etch her name in a few more times.

For her career, she has already cracked the program's top 10 in the following for NCAA Division I.

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.