FAST FACTS
» After a 1-1 road trip, the Milwaukee Panthers return home to take on the Robert Morris Colonials in their annual 'School Day' game presented by Educators Credit Union. MKE is 6-1 all-time against the Colonials and are 5-0 at the Klotsche Center when facing Robert Morris.
» Milwaukee is coming off a 75-67 win over Northern Kentucky on Sunday, picking up its first win at Truist Arena since 2017.
Kamy Peppler led Milwaukee in scoring with a 24-point effort, one shy of her career high, while
Jorey Buwalda secured her second career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
» Robert Morris heads to Wisconsin for in search of its first win since December 29 against IUPUI, since then the Colonials have gone 0-3 with losses to Wright State, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Oakland. In its most recent loss to the Golden Grizzlies (64-58), the team had four players in double figures led by Rebecca Dwomoh with 14 points, and eight rebounds.
» 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 COLONIALS
Robert Morris returns to the scene where its season ended a year ago as the Panthers knocked RMU out of the Horizon League postseason in the opening round. This year, the Colonials are 6-9 overall and have started the year with a 2-4 mark in conference contests, including losses in its last three.
The Colonials are sixth in the Horizon League in terms of defense allowing just 63.7 points per game, but their offense has not been able to keep up as RMU is 10th in terms of scoring with 61.7 points per game. By comparison, Milwaukee scores 67.6 points per game on offense, while yielding 62.9 points on the defensive end. Robert Morris is tops in the conference in blocked shots with an average of 4.20 per game through its first 15 contests.
Danielle Vuletich has been a force in the paint with a team-best 19 blocks while also pulling down a team-leading 111 rebounds for an average of 7.4 per game, good enough for fourth-best in the Horizon League. Vuletich also chips in with 8.2 points per game on offense and is one of just three Colonials to start in all 15 games this season. Simone Morris has also started in all 15 games and is the team's leader in scoring as the California-native has scored 11.2 points per game including a season-best 18 against IUPUI on December 29. However, Morris has been held to just eight points combined over the team's last two games against Purdue Fort Wayne and Oakland.
In their most recent game against the Golden Grizzlies Rebecca Dwomoh had a team-best 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while also picking up eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the effort. RMU has gone 0-for-Wisconsin since joining the Horizon League with an 0-5 record at the Klotsche Center, while also going 0-2 at the Kress Center in Green Bay.
SERIES HISTORY / LAST MEETING
Since joining the Horizon League prior to the 2020-21 academic year, the Panthers have won all but one meeting in seven all-time meetings. Milwaukee won the initial five meetings before falling to the Colonials for the first time in Moon Township late last season. The Panthers bounced back and eliminated RMU from the Horizon League postseason with a 64-58 win at home in the first round.
The Panthers had one of their best shooting nights of the season against RMU in their last meeting with a 51.0 percent shooting mark from the floor, despite making just one three-pointer.
Kendall Nead led Milwaukee with 21 points on 10-of-13 from the field, while
Emma Wittmershaus had 10 points off the bench and
Megan Walstad added nine points including the team's lone three-pointer.
This will be RMU's sixth trip to the Cream City, as the Colonials are still in search of their first win.
KAMY IN KENTUCKY
Kamy Peppler helped Milwaukee snap its five-game losing skid at Northern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, with a 24-point effort to help the Panthers to a 75-67 victory at Truist Arena.
In two career games when playing at Northern Kentucky, Peppler has shot 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) from the floor, while also connecting on half of her attempts from three (6-of-12). She has scored 40 total points on the road against NKU, while also securing a career-best seven rebounds at NKU in early January 2023.
LUTZ TURNING IT UP
Over the last five games,
Anna Lutz has been averaging a near double-double with a 12.4 point-per-game total to go along with 9.4 rebounds per game. Over that time, she has had four games with double-digit rebounding including a career-best 11 against both Purdue Fort Wayne on December 30, and Wright State on January 5. During the team's New Year's Day contest against Cleveland State, Lutz registered a career-best 23 points.
During the stretch of the last five games, Lutz has connected on 25-of-45 from the field (55.6 percent), while also recording at least one block over each of the last four games.
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.
WEEKLY HONORS
Jorey Buwalda earned Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors on Monday, January 8, following a week that saw the newcomer average a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. In the team's win over Northern Kentucky, she recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds for the second double-double of her young career.
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.
Buwalda also earned Freshman of the Week honors on November 27, that week she 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.
CRASHING THE GLASS
In the January 5 matchup 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.
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 41st in NCAA Division I this season in free throw percentage, connecting on 76.1 percent from the charity stripe.
The Panthers are led by
Angie Cera, who is 31-for-32 on the season, while
Grace Crowley is 15-for-17, and
Anna Lutz iw 13-for-15 this year.
Jorey Buwalda has connected on a team-best 43 free throws and is 43-for-52 on the year while
Jada Donaldson is 12-for-14 this season as they are all above the team average.
DONALDSON'S ATR
With one assists and two turnovers against Northern Kentucky,
Jada Donaldson now has a 2.70 assist/turnover ratio this season and is second in the Horizon League. That number is well above her career average of 2.03 assists to turnovers, with 154 assists and 76 turnovers in 88 career games.
Donaldson is 25th in all of Division I with her 2.70 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 0.96 assist/turnover ratio (278 assists/289 turnovers), which is third-best in the Horizon League and 104th in the nation. Green Bay leads the conference with a 1.68 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 32.8 minutes per game followed by
Kamy Peppler at 31.8 minutes per contest.
Kendall Nead is third on the team at 31.3 minutes per contest, while
Angie Cera also averages 30.0 minutes per game. All four Panthers are in the top-14 in the Horizon League in minutes per game.
PEPPLER FOR THREE
Thus far through team's first 17 games,
Kamy Peppler is tops in the Horizon League with an average of 2.3 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 15th in the Horizon League in scoring as she is averaging 11.8 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 10 of their first 17 games including a season-best 20 against Viterbo on December 20. Milwaukee has scored 195 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 11 of their 17 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 100-35 (.741) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 86-18 (.827).
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 5-14 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 welcomes Youngstown State to the Klotsche Center for a 12:00 p.m. start against the Penguins on Saturday, January 13. The Panthers make their way to the Detroit area next weekend to take on Oakland (January 18), and Detroit Mercy (January 20).
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.
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