MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee women's basketball returns to action on Sunday afternoon, when the Panthers pay a visit to Truist Arena in Northern Kentucky for a 1:00 p.m. (CT) start against Northern Kentucky. The Panthers and Norse are coming off losses on Friday night and looking to get back in the win column on Sunday.

The game will be available on the Black & Gold Network, as Matt Menzl returns for his eighth season with the program, live video on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available at the links on MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUP
Sunday, January 7 | Milwaukee at Northern Kentucky | Truist Arena | Highland Heights, Kentucky | 1:00 p.m. (CT)

QUICK LINKS
Black & Gold Network: mkepanthers.com/coverage
ESPN+: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Live Stats: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Follow Along (On X): @MKE_WBB

FAST FACTS
» Milwaukee continues its road trip to the southern stretches of the Horizon League as it takes on the Northern Kentucky Norse at Truist Arena at 1:00 p.m. (CT) on January 7. The Panthers are 6-11 in 17 all-time meetings with the Norse dating back to their inaugural meeting in January 2016. The Norse have controlled the series of late with wins in eight of the last nine matchups and are also on a five-game home winning streak against the Panthers, with MKE's last win in Kentucky coming on December 28, 2017.
» MKE opened the two-game trip with a loss to the Wright State Raiders on Friday evening, falling to their hosts by a 77-70 score. Milwaukee played well in the final 30 minutes after a slow start and trimmed an 18-point disadvantage down to seven at the end. Anna Lutz recorded her third double-double in the last four games with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jorey Buwalda led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points, while Kendall Nead (12), and Angie Cera (10) also scored in double figures.
» The Norse of Northern Kentucky dropped a 30-point decision to Green Bay on Friday, 86-56. Carter McCray and Kailee Davis led the Norse in scoring with 15 points each, while Davis had four assists and McCray had eight rebounds to lead the team.
» 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 NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Sunday's tilt with a 2-11 overall mark with wins over Marshall on November 18, and Division II Kentucky State on December 9. The Norse are currently on a five-game losing streak for the first time since the COVID-altered 2020-21 season, when the team had a five-game losing streak from February 5-19.

This year, NKU is being outscored by a margin of 14.8 points per game, worst in the Horizon League as the team has struggled to replace the offensive output of All-League First Teamer Lindsey Duvall, who averaged 17.7 points per game in 2022-23. Kailee Davis was second on last year's squad at 13.3 points per game and led the Norse with 97 assists last year and has just gotten back into a rhythm after missing time earlier this season, over the last three games she has averaged 16 points per contest while playing just shy of 30 minutes per game.

While Davis has made just three starts on the year, three Norse have started in at least 12 of the team's 13 games this season including Carter McCray and Khamari Mitchell-Steen, who have both started in every contest this season. McCray leads the team, and the Horizon League at 9.5 rebounds per game, while she and Mitchell-Steen lead the way on offense with 12.7 points per game this season. Macey Blevins has also started in 12 games.

This season the Norse have outrebounded their opponents on four occasions, including both wins, while also outrebounding the Mocs of Chattanooga on November 25 by one (35-34), and Green Bay on January 5 by a 31-30 difference. Northern Kentucky also tends to turn the ball over as they have committed more turnovers than their opponents in all but two (Indiana State, Detroit Mercy) this season.

SERIES HISTORY / LAST MEETING
In 17 all-time meetings, Milwaukee has six wins including its most recent win on November 20, 2021, at home by a 61-49 margin. The Panthers are currently on a three-game losing streak against NKU and have lost eight of their last nine, while they have also lost the last five games in Northern Kentucky with their last win coming on December 28, 2017.

Last season the Panthers fell at home by an 81-71 score, while falling by six points, 66-60, at Truist Arena on January 5, 2023.

Grace Crowley has a career-high 19 points against NKU, which came at home last season. Kamy Peppler's career-best rebounding game came in her Truist Arena debut last season as the then-freshman pulled down seven caroms.

LUTZ TURNING IT UP
Over the last four games, Anna Lutz has secured three double-doubles which are the first three of her career. She has recorded double-digits in rebounds in each of the last four games including career-best 11 boards against both Purdue Fort Wayne on December 30, and Wright State on January 5.

This season, Lutz has also been the team's leading rebounder on seven occasions this season, and a team-best 10 times in her career.

Offensively, Lutz has scored a career-best nine field goals twice this season as she has scored a career-high 23 points against both Central Michigan on November 25, and Cleveland State on January 1.

CRASHING THE GLASS
In Friday night's clash at Wright State, the Panthers had a season-best 48 rebounds, eclipsing its previous mark of 43 rebounds against Viterbo on December 20.

The last time Milwaukee had at least 48 rebounds in a single game came last season when MKE ripped down 56 boards in overtime win against Boise State. The last time the Panthers had at least 48 rebounds in a regulation game was on December 2, 2021, in a loss at Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center, while the last time Milwaukee won a regulation game with at least 48 rebounds was on March 19, 2021 with 51 rebounds against Drake in the WNIT.

DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
Reaching double figures in scoring for the first 14 games of the season, Kendall Nead 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 scored at least 10 points through the team's first 14 games, which had not been done to open a season since 2017-18 when Steph Kostowicz also opened the year with 14 consecutive games in double-figure scoring. Nead had her streak snapped against Cleveland State on January 1.

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.

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 14th in NCAA Division I this season in free throw percentage, connecting on 78.7 percent from the charity stripe.

The Panthers are led by Angie Cera, who is 31-for-32 on the season, while Anna Lutz and Grace Crowley are both 13-for-15 this year. Jorey Buwalda has connected on a team-best 35 free throws and is 35-for-41 on the year while Jada Donaldson is 10-for-12 this season as they are all above the team average.

DONALDSON'S ATR
With three assists and two turnovers against Wright State, Jada Donaldson now has a 2.94 assist/turnover ratio this season and is second in the Horizon League. That number is well above her career average of 2.07 assists to turnovers, with 153 assists and 74 turnovers in 87 career games.

Donaldson is 17th in all of Division I with her 2.94 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 (266 assists/272 turnovers), which is third-best in the Horizon League and 94th in the nation. Green Bay leads the conference with a 1.673 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 32.4 minutes per game followed by Kamy Peppler at 31.4 minutes per contest. Kendall Nead is third on the team at 31.4 minutes per contest, while Angie Cera also averages 30.7 minutes per game. All four Panthers are in the top-12 in the Horizon League in minutes per game.

KAMY FOR THREE
Thus far through team's first 16 games, Kamy Peppler is second in the Horizon League with an average of 2.2 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 18th in the Horizon League in scoring as she is averaging 11.1 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 nine of their first 16 games including a season-best 20 against Viterbo on December 20. Milwaukee has scored 185 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 10 of their 16 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 26-73 (.263). The Panthers are 1-5 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 4-14 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?
Milwaukee heads back home to take on the Robert Morris Colonials at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 11 at the Klotsche Center. The game will be the program's annual 'School Day' game presented by Educators Credit Union. Following the matchup against RMU, the Panthers will welcome the Penguins of Youngstown State to the K on January 13 at 12:00 p.m.

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.