MILWAUKEE – A home game against Ripon is up next for the Milwaukee women's basketball team, the Panthers and Red Hawks will play their first-ever game against one another at 1:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Matt Menzl on the air to call all the action, links for the broadcast as well as live stats of available at MKEPanthers.com.
 
THE MATCHUP & GAME LINKS
Sunday, Dec. 14 | Ripon at Milwaukee | Klotsche Center | Milwaukee, Wis. | 1:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)
 
QUICK NOTES
» Milwaukee returns home for its final two non-conference matchups of the season, beginning on Sunday as the Panthers welcome the Ripon Red Hawks to the Klotsche Center at 1:00 p.m.
» This will be the first-ever meeting between Milwaukee and Red Hawks and will also be the first collegiate meeting between Milwaukee junior Jorey Buwalda and older sister Presley Buwalda, who plays for Ripon.
» Milwaukee fell to Purdue Fort Wayne, 70-60,  its last time out, despite hitting 13 three-pointers. Buwalda scored 20 points for the Panthers and led the team with 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
» MKE has played just two Division III programs during the regular season since joining Division I in 1990-91, knocking off Edgewood two seasons ago, while defeating Carroll in the team's home opener last season.
» Ripon is receiving votes in both the WBCA and D3Hoops.com polls and are 7-2 entering play this weekend with wins in two-straight. The Red Hawks will host Grinnell, just their second home game of the year, on Saturday before heading to Milwaukee on Sunday.
» The Red Hawks won by 30 points on Saturday over Cornell in Iowa. Natalie Rauwolf led Ripon with 23 points including 5-of-6 from three, while Sophia Schlieve had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. All 18 players played in the game for Ripon.

QUICK LOOK AT RIPON
Sitting just outside the Top 25 in both the WBCA and D3Hoops.com polls, Ripon enters play this weekend at 7-2 and will host Grinnell in a Midwest Conference matchup on Saturday before heading to the Klotsche Center for its exhibition against the Panthers.

The Red Hawks have started off league play with a bang, posting a 79-25 win over Beloit before winning against Cornell by an 89-59 margin. Ripon also has non-league wins over Stout, Eau. Claire, Edgewood, Wheaton (Ill.), and Platteville.

Ripon was tabbed as the favorites to win the Midwest Conference after finishing 23-5 overall and 15-1 in league games a season ago. This year's team is one of the most efficient shooting teams in the nation, ranked 10th in all of NCAA Division III in both Field Goal Percentage (45.4) and rebounding margin (+13.6). The team crashes on the offensive glass and are ranked 24th nationally with 17.6 offensive rebounds per game this season.

In 13 years, head coach Lauren Busalacchi has 189 wins against 108 losses, and has built an 18-player roster that features 14 from the State of Wisconsin, including senior Presley Buwalda, elder sister of Milwaukee junior Jorey Buwalda.

RIPON – PLAYERS TO WATCH (Does Not Include Saturday's Game vs. Grinnell)
Laney Havlovitz – 9 GP / 9 GS, 31.0 MPG, 15.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 38 AST, 20 STL
Halle Van Horn – 9 GP / 9 GS, 26.6 MPG, 11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 14 STL, 6 BLK
Karsyn Nelson – 9 GP / 9 GS, 26.2 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 19 AST, 18 STL
Sophia Schlieve – 9 GP / 9 GS, 22.7 MPG, 10.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 15 STL, 8 BLK

UP NEXT
Non-conference play closes on Dec. 20, when the Panthers welcome the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors to the Klotsche Center for a 12:00 p.m. start on Saturday afternoon. The matchup will be the final Horizon League tuneup for the Panthers, who will return to Horizon competition on Dec. 29 at IU Indy.

LAST MEETING
This will be the first-ever meeting between Milwaukee and Ripon, the Panthers have never faced a team from the nine-member Midwest Conference.

This will be just the third regular season meeting for Milwaukee against a Division III program, the Panthers have wins over Carroll (74-49 on Nov. 6, 2024), and Edgewood (70-50 on Nov. 21, 2023).

ON THIS DATE
On previous games played on Dec. 14, the Panthers are 4-8 and enter this weekend's game against Ripon on a three-game losing streak on Dec. 14. Milwaukee's last win came in 2017-18, when they upended Wisconsin by a 67-64 score, with the team also featuring wins against Chicago State (2016-17 and 2000-01), and Western Illinois (1991-92).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR BUWALDA
Jorey Buwalda entered her junior season with two career double-doubles and has added three more in 2025-26, recording them against Loyola Chicago and Valparaiso. Her 17 rebounds at Valpo marked a new career high.

Buwalda Career Double-Doubles
• Nov. 18, 2023 vs. Mississippi Valley State – 20 Pts, 12 Reb
• Jan. 7, 2024 at Northern Kentucky – 18 Pts, 12 Reb
• Nov. 3, 2025 vs. Loyola Chicago – 18 Pts, 14 Reb
• Nov. 16, 2025 at Valparaiso – 15 Pts, 17 Reb
• Dec. 10, 2025 at Purdue Fort Wayne – 20 Pts, 10 Reb

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK FOR THE FRESHMAN
True freshman Tierney Madigan has scored in double figures in three straight games—10 against Pacific, 13 vs. UC Davis, and 17 against Youngstown State. She is the first true freshman to do so since Jorey Buwalda in 2023-24.

The last Milwaukee freshman with four straight double-digit games was Megan Walstad in 2018-19, a stretch that included a longer run of seven consecutive double-figure scoring games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 7, 2018.

GOMES IN THE FOURTH
Rita Gomes hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter against UC Davis on Nov. 29. It was her second such performance this season after doing the same on Nov. 23 at Butler.

The last Panther with at least three threes in a single quarter was Jada Donaldson, who hit three in the first quarter at Detroit Mercy on Feb. 13, 2025. The last to do so in the fourth quarter was Angie Cera in Milwaukee's 93-87 overtime win vs. Wright State on Jan. 26, 2024.

FOUR STEALS, ONE GAME
Three different Panthers have tallied four-steal games this season:
• Sophia Rampulla vs. Marquette (Nov. 19)
• Valerie Cassidy-De Falco vs. Pacific (Nov. 28)
• Tierney Madigan vs. UC Davis (Nov. 29)

No Panther has recorded more than four steals since Feb. 19, 2021, when Miquela Santoro had six against UIC.

BIG REBOUNDING EFFORTS
In Milwaukee's win over Valparaiso on Nov. 16, Jorey Buwalda grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds, becoming the first Panther with at least 15 boards since Megan Walstad pulled down 16 on Jan. 20, 2023, against Robert Morris.
On the other side, UC Davis' Megan Norris became the first opposing player with 15 or more rebounds against Milwaukee since Marquette's Chloe Marotta had 16 on Nov. 13, 2022.

OVERTIME WIN VS. VALPARAISO
Milwaukee and Valparaiso went to overtime for the third time in series history on Nov. 17. The Panthers scored 12 points in the extra session—their most in an OT period since Nov. 4, 2024, at St. Thomas (14 points). Grace Lomen scored 10 of Milwaukee's 12 overtime points, becoming the first Panther with double-digit points in an overtime period since Angela Rodriguez had 11 on Dec. 4, 2012.

COMEBACK WIN
On Nov. 17, Milwaukee erased a 31-29 halftime deficit to defeat Valparaiso 72-67. It marked the team's first comeback win of the season and extended a streak of at least one comeback win every season since 1995-96. The program record for comeback wins in a season is seven (2016-17 and 2019-20).

IN OVERTIME
Last season, Milwaukee set a program record by appearing in four overtime games and now holds a 22-27 record in games extending beyond regulation since joining Division I in 1990-91. The Panthers have played three overtime season openers—defeating Parkside in 2019-20 and falling to Ball State (2021-22) and St. Thomas (2024-25). Milwaukee is 1-0 in overtime in 2025-26.

FIRST YEAR HEAD COACHES
Milwaukee faced four first-year head coaches in its first five games:
• Jacey Brooks (Northern Illinois)
• Robin Pingeton (Wisconsin)
• Kate Achter (Western Michigan)
• Courtney Boyd (Valparaiso)

Two head coaches are new to the Horizon League this year as well: Kiefer Haffey (Detroit Mercy) and Keisha Newell (Oakland).

ONE-POINT GAMES
With its loss to Western Michigan on Nov. 13, Milwaukee fell to 21-19 all-time in one-point games, including a 12-9 record at home. The Panthers' last one-point win came on Nov. 26, 2022, against Boise State in overtime (55-54). Their last one-point win in regulation—and last at home—was on Jan. 13, 2018, against Youngstown State (62-61).

FRESHMAN SUCCESS AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
In Milwaukee's win at NIU, the Panthers were led by freshmen Kendall Barnes (17 points) and Madison Fitzgibbon (15 points).

The last time two Milwaukee freshmen scored at least 15 points in the same game was Jan. 2, 2011, vs. Detroit Mercy (Angela Rodriguez 15, Courtney Lindfors 15).

The last time two players reached double figures in the same game was Dec. 29, 2022, also against Detroit Mercy (Anna Lutz 11, Kamy Peppler 10).

TRUE FRESHMAN STARTER IN SEASON OPENER
Against Loyola Chicago, Madison Fitzgibbon became just the 18th true freshman to start a season opener for Milwaukee since joining Division I in 1990-91, and the first since 2022-23.

THAT'S AN ODD NUMBER
It's actually an even number, but Rita Gomes—who wears No. 16—became the first player in Milwaukee program history to wear a digit outside the traditional 0–5 range. The NCAA lifted restrictions on numbers 6–9 prior to the 2023-24 season.

CLOSING IN ON 500
Milwaukee currently has 497 wins at the Division I level, dating back to its inaugural 1990-91 season. MA Kelling led the program with 57 wins over the first five years, Jenny Sell recorded four wins in 1995-96, Sandy Botham totaled 245 wins, and current head coach Kyle Rechlicz has added 191.

PANTHERS FOR THREE
In January 2025, Iowa State's NCAA Division I record-breaking streak of 945 consecutive games with a made three-pointer ended against Texas Tech. With the Cyclones' streak stopped, Milwaukee now owns the fourth-longest active streak in Division I.

All-Time Streaks
1. Iowa State – 945 (Feb. 19, 1995–Jan. 11, 2025)
2. Chattanooga – 816 (Dec. 16, 1999–Present)*
3. BYU – 805 (Feb. 26, 2000–Present)*
4. South Alabama – 766 (Feb. 2000–Present)*
5. Milwaukee – 712 (Nov. 29, 2002–Present)*
6. Dayton – 697 (Jan. 2, 2001–Jan. 17, 2024)
* Active streaks (through Dec. 10, 2025)

TEN FOR THREE
After posting only three games with 10+ three-pointers in 2023-24, Milwaukee rebounded with eight such games in 2024-25 and have one thus far in 2025-26. Under Kyle Rechlicz, the Panthers have recorded at least 10 threes in a game 72 times.

MAGIC NUMBER
Since 2016-17, when Milwaukee shoots at least 40 percent from the field, it is 117-45 (.722). When shooting 43 percent or better, the Panthers improve to 100-25 (.800). When shooting below 40 percent, Milwaukee is 27-101 (.211).

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since 2022-23, Milwaukee is 12-2 when committing 11 or fewer fouls. Conversely, the Panthers are 11-33 when committing 18 or more.

IN THE PAINT
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Milwaukee is 21-21 when scoring more than 25 points in the paint and 5-29 when scoring fewer than 25.

BALANCING THE FIRST AND SECOND HALVES
Last season, Milwaukee shot 39.6 percent (354-896) in first halves and 39.3 percent (338-862) in second halves. In overtime, the Panthers shot 7-of-30 (23.3 percent).

This season, Milwaukee is shooting 37.1 percent (105-283) in first halves, 39.2 percent (116-296) in second halves, and 33.3 percent (2-6) in overtime.

CLOSE GAMES
Last season, Milwaukee went 3-14 in games decided by nine points or fewer. The Panthers' three wins came in both home and road victories over IU Indy and a home win over Youngstown State. In 2025-26, the Panthers are 1-3 in single-digit games.