MILWAUKEE – The quarterfinal round of the Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championships gets underway on Thursday with the Milwaukee Panthers visiting the Cleveland State Vikings at the Wolstein Center.
 
The Panthers enter off of the first-round win over the Robert Morris Colonials on Tuesday evening by a 64-58 score, while Cleveland State received a bye to the quarterfinal round and last played on Saturday against the Panthers in the regular season finale.
 
The Panther Basketball Postseason is presented by Educators Credit Union.

For fans unable to be in attendance, 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 VIKINGS
Cleveland State finished the regular season with a 27-4 record and a 17-3 mark in the Horizon League to finish second in the final regular season standings.

The team received a bye into the quarterfinal round, and last played at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon, with a 63-56 win over the Panthers. Cleveland State also won the mid-January matchup at the Wolstein Center by an 81-50 margin.

Destiny Leo was selected as Horizon League Player of the Year and as a member of the All-League First Team following a junior season that saw her record a career-best 556 points in 31 games, connecting on 43.4 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three. Leo was held to just seven points in the first matchup at the Wolstein Center on January 12.

Leo at 17.9 and Brittni Moore at 11.8 are the leading scorers for the Vikings, Moore was a second-team All-League selection. Deja Williams earned Sixth Player of the Year accolades, as she averaged 6.5 points per game while averaging just over 22 minutes per game this season.

Amele Ngwafang was an All-League Third-Team representative as she scored 9.9 points per game and was just over two assists per game this season to lead the Vikings. Ngwafang was a member of the All-Defensive team as well with 20 steals and 19 blocks to go along with a team-best 153 defensive rebounds.

Freshman Jordana Reisman played in all 31 of the team's games during her first season with the team and averaged six points per game with 96 rebounds and a team-best 39 blocks to earn All-Freshman Team Honors.

LAST MEETING
The teams met five days ago in Milwaukee with the Vikings winning by a 63-56 margin, the Panthers had a betters shooting percentage connecting on 40.0 percent from the field, while Cleveland State connected on just 35.6 percent.

Turnovers were costly as the Panthers gave the ball away 20 times with Cleveland State scoring 23 points off turnovers.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee is 36-28 all-time against Cleveland State and are just 12-17 on the road against the Vikings. Cleveland State has won the last four matchups, with Milwaukee winning the three previous.

Under Kyle Rechlicz, Milwaukee is 15-7 vs. Cleveland State. The Panthers have not met Cleveland State in the postseason under Rechlicz.

WHAT'S ON TAP?
The Horizon League semifinals will be on Monday, March 6 in Indianapolis, with the league Championship game taking place a day later.

FOLLOW THE PANTHERS LIVE
Matt Menzl returns for his seventh 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 twitter account (@MKE_WBB) will also have live updates throughout the game.

LAST TIME OUT
After a 64-58 win on Tuesday evening in the Horizon League First Round, the Milwaukee Panthers are moving on to take on the second seed Cleveland State after knocking the Robert Morris Colonials out of the Barbasol Horizon League Championships.

The trip to the quarterfinals will be the 11th consecutive season that the Panthers have reached the quarterfinal round. The Panthers will look to avenge a pair of losses to Cleveland State during the regular season and reach the Horizon League Semifinals for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.

Milwaukee shot 51.0 percent from the field with 26 made field goals, for the seventh time on the season. Leading the way for the Panthers was Kendall Nead, who tallied 21 points on 10 made field goals, while also pulling down 10 rebounds for her second career double-double.

Emma Wittmershaus had 10 points off the bench and had three of Milwaukee's 18 assists on the night. Wittmershaus, Nead, and Angie Cera had three assists apiece, while the team was led by Megan Walstad who tallied four assists. Walstad's night also included nine points and nine rebounds to go along with a team-best two steals.

The Panthers tied their season-best by committing just nine fouls on the night, equaling the mark set back in the team's win over Green Bay on December 1.

Nead opened the scoring for the Panthers but neither side was able to establish a presence in the game as the lead exchanged hands on six occasions through the opening 10 minutes.

Milwaukee led by one after the first period, while the opening stages of the second quarter saw much of the same. Robert Morris led by as many as three at 29-26, but Walstad knocked down a three pointer to tie the game with 3:02 left in the opening half.

Cera made a jumper, followed by a Walstad layup. After a free throw by the Colonials, Kamy Peppler got in on the scoring with a jumper to close out a 9-1 run for the Panthers in the closing stages of the half to take a 35-30 lead into the intermission.

The Panthers built their lead up to nine after back-to-back buckets by Nead and Anna Lutz to put the home team up 43-34 with 5:12 to go. However, the Colonials refused to go away quietly and closed out the third quarter with a 9-2 run of their own to go into the fourth quarter trailing Milwaukee by a 45-43 score.

MKE got some breathing room as Wittmershaus sank a jumper followed by a pair at the line from Jada Donaldson, but it was Robert Morris to close the gap to one possession again. Peppler made a free throw with under three to go, followed by a layup by Nead after a block on the defensive end by Walsta to swing momentum back in favor of the Panthers and put Milwaukee ahead, 61-55.

Donaldson made another key shot with a jumper off of a steal by Wittmershaus on the defensive end to virtually seal the game. The Colonials connected on a three in the waning seconds and Donaldson put the finishing touches on the game with a free throw to seal the 64-58 victory.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
Milwaukee is 7-12 all-time in the quarterfinal round since joining the Horizon League prior to the 1995-96 season.

The Panthers head-to-head against Cleveland State are now 2-3 with the last meeting coming in 2009, when the Panthers knocked off the Vikings by a 63-57 score in the semifinal round.

Milwaukee's all-time results by seed in the Horizon League Tournament are as followed; 3-0 as the 1 Seed,  3-5 as the 2 Seed, 1-2 as 3 Seed, 1-2 as the 4 Seed, 2-3 as the 5 Seed, 1-3 as the 6 Seed, 4-2 as the 7 Seed, 1-2 as the 8 Seed, 1-1 as the 9 Seed.

KEEP THE FOULS DOWN
When Milwaukee commits 11 fouls or fewer, the Panthers are 5-1, including the team's First Round Win over Robert Morris on Tuesday night when the team picked up a season-low nine.

On the contrary, the Panthers are 2-9 when they commit 18 or more fouls.

BLOCK PARTY
Milwaukee's regular season finale on Saturday saw the Panthers reach 11 team blocks against Cleveland State, tying a Division I program record.

In the process, three Panthers tied their career high in blocks with Megan Walstad finishing with five, Emma Wittmershaus with four and Angie Cera with two of her own.

The last time Milwaukee had two players get at least three blocks in a game was earlier this season on February 5 against Youngsown State with Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus.

Milwaukee's last occurrence of three players getting at least two blocks in a game came back on January 1, 2021, when Walstad, Wittmershaus and Sydney Staver each had two-plus at Calihan Hall against Detroit Mercy.

ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
On Monday, the Horizon League announced its All-League accolades with a pair from the Panthers earning team awards.

Kamy Peppler was named to the All-Freshman team following a season in which she led the team in assists with 96, while also scoring 6.5 points per game as she was just one of three players to appear in all 28 of the team's games this season.

Peppler becomes the 19th selection all-time for Milwaukee as a member of the All-Freshman team and first since Walstad earned a spot on the team back during her rookie campaign of 2018-19.

For the third consecutive season, Megan Walstad was named to the All-Defensive team following her final season with the team in which she secured a team-best 220 rebounds including 179 on the defensive glass. Walstad also led Milwaukee with 37 blocks, including a season-best five in the regular season finale against Cleveland State.

Walstad is the 12th all-time selection for the All-Defensive team for Milwaukee, becoming the first-ever three-time selection.

LOWS AND HIGHS
In last Thursday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne, the Panther held the Mastodons to just 11 points in the opening half, including just two points in the opening period.

The 11 points is a new Panther record for points allowed in a half, eclipsing the mark of 12 most recently set in December of 2020 at Marquette.

During the game against PFW, the Panthers also had a pair of season high marks, collecting a season-high 11 steals for the third time this season (Nov. 25 at Nevada; Dec. 29 vs. Detroit Mercy).

The team also tied its season-high mark with six blocks in the win, tying the team's six blocks on the road at Marquette in mid-November.

DOUBLE VISION
For the first time in 48 games, Milwaukee had two players record at least 10 rebounds in a game as both Grace Crowley and Megan Walstad ended Thursday's game with 10 apiece.

For Crowley, 10 rebounds is a new career-best mark, while Walstad is no stranger to 10-rebound games with six this season and 31 for her career.

DEFENSE GETTING LOW
In Thursday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne, Milwaukee kept the Mastodons to just two points on the scoreboard in the opening quarter.

Allowing just two points, eclipsed the season-best mark of three in the fourth quarter against Green Bay on December 1.

The Panthers have also held two teams to just four points in a given quarter this season; allowing four in the third quarter to Youngstown State (Feb. 17), and four in the third quarter at home against Detroit Mercy (Dec. 29).

A WIDE MARGIN
After a pair of +12 quarters coming against Youngstown State (Feb. 18), and Green Bay (Dec. 1), Milwaukee had its best quarter of the season at +19 in the opening period against Purdue Fort Wayne on February 23.

HORIZON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
The Horizon League recentlyu announced its All-Academic Team with Milwaukee forward Megan Walstad earning recognition for the second consecutive season.
  
Walstad currently boasts a 3.96 GPA and is the program's eighth overall selection dating back to the 2010-11 season, and just third in program history to have two selections all-time, joining Sami Tucker from 2012 and 2013, and Steph Kostowicz from 2016 and 2017.

Walstad's selection this year is Milwaukee's fourth consecutive year with at least one representative on the All-Academic team, with Walstad earning in 2022, Brandi Bisping in 2021, and Alyssa Fischer in 2020.

ACADEMIC HONORS
Last Tuesday the College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA) announced its Academic All-District Teams.

Milwaukee had four honorees by the organization as Angie Cera, Grace Crowley, Jada Donaldson and Megan Walstad all were recognized.

The four led a group of 23 from the Horizon League that are now eligible to be named Academic All Americans. That select group will be revealed on March 15.

THREE TIMES AS NICE
With 14 three-pointers on the road against Youngstown State on February 17, Milwaukee set a new season-high nearly doubling the previous season-best mark of eight.

It was the first time Milwaukee had connected on at least 10 three-pointers since March 19, 2021, against Drake; while it was also the first time the Panthers had at least 14 three-pointers since the 2016-17 season at home against Cleveland State.

Under the watch of head coach Kyle Rechlicz, the performance was the 60th occasion in which the Panthers had at least 10 three-pointers in a game, just over 18 percent of the games that Rechlicz has coached in.

LOW PERCENTAGE SHOTS? NO PROBLEM
While the three-point shot tends to be the lowest percentage shot to take at any level of competitive basketball, Milwaukee's Angie Cera scoffed at that notion by connecting on six of seven from beyond the arc in the road win at Youngstown State on February 17.

At 85.7 percent from three, Cera tied the sixth-highest percentage from three in a single game in Milwaukee history, tying Anne Breland from December 19, 2010, and Aubri Rote from November 9, 2007; who both went 6-for-7 in their respective games.

Only three players have ever been perfect from three, with a minimum of five attempts, as Jalessa Armstrong on January 7, 2015, at Detroit, and Jenny Lindner on February 20, 2017 vs. Valparaiso, each went 5-for-5. Daryl Sheffeld accomplished the 5-for-5 effort twice in the 1996-97 season vs. Northern Illinois, and 1998-99 season vs. UIC.

PASSING THE ROCK
For the 10th time this season this season, the Panthers had at least 18 assists in a single game with 18 in Thursday's matchup at Purdue Fort Wayne.

It was the fifth time in the last six, and sixth time in the last 10 games for MKE that the team has had at least 18 assists.

The 21 assists on the road versus 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, also 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.

HIGH FIVE!
Over the team's five-game stretch from January 28 through February 12, the Panthers have had five players reach career-highs in games as Emma Wittmershaus got the run started with a 25-point effort against IUPUI on January 28.

Kendall Nead had 24 points in the following game against Oakland, while Jada Donaldson wrapped up the weekend trip to the Detroit Metro area with a career-best 16 against the Titans of Detroit Mercy.

Milwaukee was held without a career-best scoring effort against Wright State, but Grace Crowley with 19 and Anna Lutz with 16 points both had new career-highs in points against Northern Kentucky on February 12.

MEGAN'S MILESTONES
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.

• Points (10th, 1,364)
• Rebounds (t-3rd, 898)
• Rebounding Average (t-3rd, 7.7)
• Offensive Rebounds (7th, 246)
• Defensive Rebounds (2nd, 652)
• Field Goals Made (6th, 542)
• Field Goals Attempted (9th, 1,090)
• Field Goal Percent (5th, 49.7)
• Free Throw Percent (4th, 85.1)
• Blocks (3rd, 163)
• Minutes (8th, 3,440)
• Minutes/Game (9th, 29.4)
• Double-Doubles (5th, 24)
• Games Started (5th, 113)
• Double-Digit Rebounds (4th, 32)

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

Over the last 18 games, Milwaukee has given up an average of 31.0 points in the second half. Opponents are shooting 45.7 percent (223-of-488) from the floor and 40.1 percent (67-for-167) from three-point range over the final 20 minutes.

OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
The Panthers have recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in eight of their last 17 contests and have made the most of their chances.

In that span, Milwaukee has totaled 155 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.

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 93-31 (.750) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 81-16 (.835).

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 60.8 points per game through 20 league contests and holding the opposition to 38.4 percent shooting overall. In comparison, the Panthers have connected on 41.2 percent from the field over that span.

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.