MILWAUKEE – Horizon League play begins on Friday evening for the Milwaukee Panthers as the Youngstown State Penguins visit the Klotsche Center for a 6:00 p.m. start. The Panthers will open the league slate against the Penguins for the second consecutive season after beginning the conference year at the Beeghly Center a season ago.
 
Wednesday'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
Friday, Dec. 5 | Youngstown State at Milwaukee | Klotsche Center | Milwaukee, Wis. | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)
 
QUICK NOTES
» The Panthers return home to the Klotsche Center on Friday evening to begin Horizon League play as Milwaukee welcomes Youngstown State for a 6:00 p.m. tip time.
» Milwaukee enters on a four-game skid, having lost both games at the 2025 Tiger Turkey Tip-Off in Stockton, California this past weekend. The Panthers fell to host Pacific on Friday (77-48), and UC Davis on Saturday (81-72).
» Jorey Buwalda led the Panthers in California this past weekend, averaging 14 points per game and seven rebounds per game. On Saturday against UC Davis, she scored a
season-best 19 points.
» Also among Milwaukee's top performers this weekend was Tierney Madigan, who scored 10 on Friday at Pacific and followed that up with a career-best 13 against UC Davis.
» Friday evening against the Penguins will be the team's annual Pride Night game
» Youngstown State is off to a 5-2 start under second-year head coach Melissa Jackson. The Penguins knocked off Akron with a convincing showing on Sunday, 90-63. YSU outscored the Zips 22-9 in the opening quarter and did not turn back.
» Sophia Gregory led Youngstown with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Casey Santoro also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
» The win was the largest margin of victory for Youngstown State over Akron in 46 years.
» Milwaukee is 34-22 against Youngstown State as Division I opponents, which includes a 20-8 mark in games played at the Klotsche Center including last year's 'Senior Day' game, 61-56 on Feb. 8.
» Since joining a conference at the Division I level, Milwaukee is 16-16 in league openers. This is the fourth time MKE and YSU will meet in a conference opener, including last year's 66-50 YSU win at the Beeghly Center.

QUICK LOOK AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Tabbed third in this season's Horizon League Preseason Poll, Youngstown State look to drastically improve upon last season's 7-13 conference finish. The Penguins were the nine seed and fell to eighth-seeded Wright State by a 73-58 margin.

In her second season at the helm, Melissa Jackson's squad brought in a pair of transfers looking to make an impact this season with the additions of Casey Santoro from Florida Gulf Coast and Paulina Hernandez from Cleveland State. Jackson, who was most recently on CSU's staff, also brought Faith Burch to YSU from CSU a season ago. Santoro has paid dividends as she leads the team in minutes (31.4), three-pointers (15), points (90), scoring (12.9), and assists (21).

Entering league play this week, YSU is the third-best offense in the conference, averaging 71.4 points per game, while the team is the third-best defensively yielding 60.3 points per contest. In terms of scoring margin, the Penguins are second in the league to just Cleveland State, outscoring opponents by 11.1 points per game this season. Efficiency is also the name of the game for Youngstown State with the team scoring a league-best 45.5 percent from the field, and 33.6 percent from three.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Casey Santoro – 7 Games / 7 Starts, 31.4 Minutes/Game, 12.9 Points/Game, 6.4 Rebounds/Game, 21 Assists, 4 Steals.
Sarah Baker – 7 Games / 7 Starts, 23.6 Minutes/Game, 11.0 Points/Game, 4.4 Rebounds/Game, 5 Steals, 2 Blocks.
Sophia Gregory – 7 Games / 7 Starts, 23.9 Minutes/Game, 9.7 Points/Game, 8.4 Rebounds/Game, 11 Stelas, 7 Blocks.
Erica King – 7 Gams / 7 Starts, 26.6 Minutes/Game, 10.3 Points/Game, 2.7 Rebounds/Game, 18 Assists, 12 Steals.

UP NEXT
The Panthers head back to Indiana for a third time this season with a Horizon League bout against Purdue Fort Wayne on the slate for Dec. 10. After the last six meetings in Fort Wayne have taken place on campus at the Gates Sports Center, this year's game will be at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Milwaukee is 0-1 at the Coliseum all-time with the program's first-ever game in Fort Wayne taking place on Feb. 10, 2005, a 70-65 Mastodon win.

ON THIS DATE
Milwaukee has just two dates in the month of December, where they boast a record of at least two games over the .500 mark with Dec. 5 being one of those dates with a 5-2 mark all-time. The other date is Dec. 21, where the Panthers are 4-2 in games played on that date.

The Panthers won their first three games on Dec. 5, with wins over SEMO (73-60) in 1992, Montana State (63-52) in 1999, and Northern Illinois (58-52) in 2000. The team lost its last game on Dec. 5 with a 64-55 loss to IU Indy in 2022.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR THE FRESHMAN
With 10 points against Pacific and 13 against UC Davis, Tierney Madigan became the first freshman to score double digit points in consecutive games since Payton Rechlicz a season ago as a redshirt freshman. Rechlicz scored 11 at Wright State on Jan. 25, 2025, and followed that up with 10 points at IU Indy on Jan. 29, 2025. Madigan is the first true freshman to score double figures in consecutive games since Jorey Buwalda did so on several occasions during her rookie campaign in 2023-24.

GOMES IN THE FOURTH
Rita Gomes had three three-pointers in the fourth quarter of the Nov. 29 game against UC Davis. It's the second time this season she has done so after knocking down three fourth-quarter threes on Nov. 23 at Butler.

The last player to have at least three three-point makes in a single quarter was Jada Donaldson, who knocked down three in the first quarter at Detroit Mercy on Feb. 13, 2025. The last Panther to have three three-pointers in the fourth quarter was Angie Cera in Milwaukee's 93-87 overtime win against Wright State at home on Jan. 26, 2024.

FOUR STEALS, ONE GAME
Sophia Rampulla had four steals against Marquette on Nov. 19, Valerie Cassidy-De Falco had four against Pacific on Nov. 28, and Tierney Madigan added another four for Milwaukee against UC Davis on Nov. 29. Milwaukee has not had a player record more than four steals in a single game since Feb. 19, 2021, when Miquela Santoro had six against the UIC Flames.

BIG REBOUNDING EFFORTS
In the team's win over Valparaiso on Nov. 16, Jorey Buwalda recorded a career-best 17 rebounds and became the first player to record at least 15 rebounds in a game for Milwaukee since Megan Walstad had 16 on Jan. 20, 2023, against Robert Morris.

On the flip side, with her 15 rebounds on Nov. 29, Megan Norris of UC Davis became the first opponent to grab at least 15 rebounds in a game against the Panthers since Chloe Marotta of Marquette pulled down 16 on Nov. 13, 2022, at the Al McGuire Center.

OVERTIME WIN VS. VALPARAISO
Tied at 60 through regulation, Milwaukee and Valparaiso went to overtime for the third time in series history. Milwaukee won at Valparaiso in 1993-94, the then-Crusaders earned a win at the Klotsche Center in 1999-2000, and the Panthers prevailed again on Nov. 17.

The 12 points in the extra session marked the most for Milwaukee since the 2024-25 season opener on Nov. 4, 2024, at St. Thomas, when the Panthers scored 14. Grace Lomen had 10 of Milwaukee's 12 overtime points and became the first Panther to score double-digit points in an overtime period since Dec. 4, 2012, when Angela Rodriguez scored 11 in the first OT of a double-overtime win over Bradley (116-112).

COMEBACK WIN
On Nov. 17, Milwaukee trailed Valparaiso 31-29 at halftime and came back to win 72-67. It was the team's first comeback win of the season, matching last year's total and extending a streak of at least one comeback win in a season dating back to 1995-96. The program record for comeback wins in a season is seven, achieved in both 2016-17 and 2019-20.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR BUWALDA
Jorey Buwalda entered her junior season with two career double-doubles and has added two 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

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 has already faced four first-year head coaches during its first five games: Jacey Brooks at Northern Illinois (Nov. 7), Robin Pingeton at Wisconsin (Nov. 10), Kate Achter at Western Michigan (Nov. 13), and Courtney Boyd at Valparaiso (Nov. 16).

There are also two new head coaches in the Horizon League—Kiefer Haffey replacing Achter at Detroit Mercy, and Keisha Newell taking over at 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 – 815 (Dec. 16, 1999–Present)*
3. BYU – 803 (Feb. 26, 2000–Present)*
4. South Alabama – 764 (Feb. 2000–Present)*
5. Milwaukee – 710 (Nov. 29, 2002–Present)*
6. Dayton – 697 (Jan. 2, 2001–Jan. 17, 2024)
* Active streaks (through Nov. 30, 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, including its postseason loss to Detroit Mercy. Under Kyle Rechlicz, the Panthers have recorded at least 10 threes in a game 71 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 27-99 (.214).

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since 2022-23, Milwaukee is 12-2 when committing 11 or fewer fouls. Conversely, the Panthers are 11-32 when committing 18 or more.

IN THE PAINT
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Milwaukee is 21-20 when scoring more than 25 points in the paint and 5-28 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 39.0 percent (89-228) in first halves, 37.5 percent (92-245) 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.