MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Panthers women's basketball team takes on the Northern Kentucky Norse on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12 p.m. from the Klotsche Center.
The game can be viewed on ESPN+; while live stats and live audio on the Black & Gold Network with
Matt Menzl on the call are also be available on MKEPanthers.com.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Sunday's game having lost three of its last four games, including a three- point loss to Green Bay on Friday evening, 54-51. The Norse are 14-10 overall on the year and 8-7 in Horizon League contests, sitting in sole possession of fifth place.
In the game on Friday vs. Green Bay, Kailee Davis had 21 points and six rebounds to lead the way while also adding three assists in the effort. Davis knocked down four three-pointers as the Norse were 5-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Linsdey Duvall leads the Norse in scoring this year with 403 points and an average of 16.8 points per game and is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per game. Davis is second on the team as she is averaging 14.0 points per game, while Ivy Turner is third at 11.8 points per game.
Northern Kentucky is third in the league in scoring, averaging 69.1 points per game and are seventh on the defensive side allowing 65,1 points per game. The Norse are also second in the league in rebounding with an average of 38.7 per contest.
Among all scorers in the league, Lindsey Duvall has had the greatest individual scoring performance of the season among with a 36-point performance against Lipscomb on November 10.
LAST MEETING
When Milwaukee visited Northern Kentucky on January 5, the Panthers dropped a six-point decision at 66-60. Milwaukee shot 38.6 percent on the game including 6-of-18 from beyond the arc. In contrast, Northern Kentucky shot 37.7 percent on the game but dominated the second half going 17-for-30 from the field including a 9-of-14 clip in the fourth quarter.
The Norse took advantage of 14 Panther turnovers and scored 20 points off Milwaukee giveaways, Northern Kentucky also scored nine points in transition compared to Milwaukee's two.
Kendall Nead connected on 7-of-20 from the field for 19 points, while
Kamy Peppler had a big game with 16 points of her own.
Megan Walstad led the Panthers in rebounds with 12 boards.
SERIES HISTORY
In just 16 all-time meetings, it's been Northern Kentucky to hold a slight edge over the Panthers with 10 wins over Milwaukee, including nine of the last 11. The Panthers won the first three matches in the 2016 calendar year.
Milwaukee is 4-4 all-time against Northern Kentucky inside the Klotsche Center, including their last meeting during the 2021-22 season by a 61-49 score. Four Panthers scored in double figures to propel MKE to the win.
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee takes its last road trip of the regular season, as the Panthers travel to take on Youngstown State on Friday evening, before paying Robert Morris a visit on Sunday afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
In a back-and-forth matchup at the Klotsche Center, the Milwaukee Panthers women's basketball team dropped a Horizon League matchup to the Wright State Raiders by the score of 74-65.
Senior
Megan Walstad led the Panthers with her third double-double of the season, and second 21-point game of the year to tie her season best.
The Panthers got off to a quick start and had a five-point lead after the opening quarter at 21-16 behind eight points from Walstad as the Panthers combined to shoot 83.3 percent from the field connecting on 10-of-12.
The Raiders came back in the second and took a halftime lead of 40-34, with the Panthers being held to just 13 points. The third quarter saw Milwaukee return to a strong 9-of-14 from the field including seven assists on those nine made shots, to even the game at 55 heading into the fourth.
Wright State scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and ran away with the stanza at 19-10, to pick up the 74-65 victory.
While both sides had their share of runs, mutually the Panthers and Raiders shot better than 50.0 percent for the night as Milwaukee was 27-of-52 for the game, while Wright State was 29-of-55 from the field. The teams were even in turnovers at 11 and rebounds as the Panthers held the slight edge at 29-28.
One key difference in the game proved to be three-point shooting as the Raiders connected on 9-of-24 from beyond the arc, while the Panthers were just 3-of-13 from three.
While Walstad led the team in both points and rebounds, four others had at least eight points as
Angie Cera had a pair of threes to help her to 12 points on the night while
Kendall Nead added 11 points and a team-best two steals.
Grace Crowley had eight points and six rebounds to go along with a career-best five assists, while
Jada Donaldson led the Panthers with six assists and had eight points. Cera, Crowley and Walstad all had one block apiece on the game.
CLIMBING THE BOARD…BOARD
With 29 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 841.
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 240 offensive rebounds, placing her eight on the offensive rebound list and just two behind Lindner for seventh all-time.
Defensively, Walstad has accumulated 601 rebounds and stands alone 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 on February 3. 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 Febraury 3 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
Playing the inside-out game,
Megan Walstad had a career-high nine assists in the team's home game against IUPUI on January 28. 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 (6, Feb. 10 vs. 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 11 games, Milwaukee has given up an average of 38.6 points in the second half. Opponents are shooting 48.8 percent (147-of-301) from the floor and 43.6 percent (48-for-110) 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 13 contests.
Over the last 12 games,
Kamy Peppler is 19-for-50 (38.0 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 eight of their last 11 contests and have made the most of their chances. In that span, Milwaukee has totaled 113 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 13 conference games including a season-high 24 points in the team's games at Oakland on February 3.
In 15 Horizon League contests, Nead is averaging a team-high 13.5 points, which is currently sixth among all Horizon League scorers in conference competition this season. Nead is also fourth in league play in field goal percentage at 43.8 percent within the conference.
Away from her scoring prowess, Nead has an average of 4.9 rebounds in addition to 23 assists, 12 steals and two blocks over 15 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 90-28 (.762) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 69-15 (.821).
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 62.4 points per game through 15 league contests and holding the opposition to 39.5 percent shooting overall. In comparison, the Panthers have connected on 43.1 percent from the field over that span.
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.
- Rebounds per game (4th, 7.6)
- Field goal percentage (t-5th, 49.5)
- Free throw percentage (5th, 84.6)
- Total rebounds (4th, 841)
- Total blocks (4th, 151)
- Double-doubles (5th, 22)
- Offensive rebounds (8th, 240)
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.
