MILWAUKEE – For the last time this season, Milwaukee will play a weekend home game at the Klotsche Center with the Panthers welcoming the Youngstown State Penguins for a 2:00 p.m. tip. The team will be recognizing members of its 'Senior Day' class throughout the day for their contributions to the program both on and off the court.

Game coverage will be available online on ESPN+, while Milwaukee's audio stream will also be available on the All New Black & Gold Network, as Matt Menzl returns for his ninth season with the program. Fans can also find the audio stream on the 'Varsity Network' App (available in the App Store & Google Play). All links, including live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
THE MATCHUP
Saturday, Feb. 8 – Youngstown State at Milwaukee | Klotsche Center | Milwaukee, Wis. | 2:00 pm
 
QUICK LINKS
Promotions: 'Senior Day', VIPs (Very Important Professors), Lil' Panthers Reading Program Day presented by Gruber Law Offices, LLC
Tickets: mkepanthers.com/tickets
Watch on ESPN+: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Listen on Black & Gold Network: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Listen on Varsity Network: App Store & Google Play
Live Stats: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Follow Along (On X): @MKE_WBB

QUICK NOTES
» Milwaukee lost to Robert Morris on Thursday evening by a 58-52 score. The Colonials outscored Milwaukee by a 19-5 margin in the fourth quarter to come away late win.
» Kamy Peppler led the Panthers in scoring with her first 20-point game of the season with Kacee Baumhower scoring 14 points and led the team with assists (3) and steals (3).
» The win was the first in program history for Robert Morris in Milwaukee.
» On Thursday, Youngstown fell at Green Bay by a 58-47 and were outscored by a 33-18 score at halftime. The Penguins wre led by Jewel Watkins with 14 points, while Malia Magestro and Sophia Gregory each had 12 points in the loss.
» The Panthers welcome Youngstown State to the Klotsche Center looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Penguins. YSU knocked off MKE earlier this season by a 66-50 score. Jewel Watkins had 22 points in the win for the Penguins.
» In their last meeting in Milwaukee, the Panthers picked up the win over Youngstown State, 66-58 and were led by Kamy Peppler who had 24 points in the win.
» Milwaukee is 33-22 all-time against Youngstown State including an impressive 19-8 mark in games played at home.
» Following Saturday afternoon's contest Milwaukee will be recognizing its senior class, which includes Hallie Majoros, Anna Lutz, Kacee Baumhower, and Jada Donaldson.

LOOKING AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State is the lowest scoring offense in the Horizon League this season with an average of 58.7 points per game, however the Penguins' defensive effort has been top-five this season yielding 61.2 points per contest in 2024-25. The -2.5 scoring margin over 23 games this season has led YSU to a 9-14 overall mark entering play on Saturday.

The Penguins are 4-9 through the opening stretch of Horizon League contests this season, including wins in two of its last six games. The team earned wins over Northern Kentucky (75-66) on Jan. 15 and knocked off Oakland 73-56 on Jan. 26. YSU's two other wins came at home against Milwaukee and on the road at NKU. It's been a tale of two cities as the Penguins boast an 8-4 record at the Beeghly Center, while the team has a 1-10 mark in games played away from the cozy confines.

In eight road games and a pair of neutral site games, Youngstown State has been outshot by exactly 100 percentage points with the Penguins shooting .319 from the field (191-599) while opponents knock down a 41.9 percent average (250-596). However, the mark gets worse the further way from the hoop with Youngstown State scoring just 24.3 percent from three (57-235), compared to the 34.7 percent opponents hit from deep (59-170). The Penguins average 48.4 points per game and allow 65.9 points per contest over the 11 games.

Youngstown State at home, by comparison, makes 41.7 percent (293-702) overall and 30.7 percent (83-270) from three while opponents make just 38.1 percent (244-641) from the field and 26.0 percent (54-208) from three. The Penguins are +10.8 points per game in a dozen true home games as they score 67.6 points versus opponents making 56.8 points per game. Rebounding has been crucial in home games for the Penguins with the team averaging +7.4 per game at home, versus -2.5 away from the Beeghly Center.

Jewel Watkins has been pushing the Penguins of late as she has been the leading scorer in each of the team's last six games for a total of 13 times this season. Watkins had a team-best 22 points against Milwaukee on Dec. 4 during the team's Horizon League opener, including 15 points in the second half to get Youngstown State off to a 1-0 start.

Erica King was also a factor in the game with 16 points, while Sarah Baker had 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. After a solid stretch midway through the season, King has cooled off of late with just 11 points over her last three games. Fellow freshman Baker has not appeared in a game since her lone start and season-best marks against the Panthers in early December.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will be on the road for its final two-game out-of-state road trip of the season, the Panthers will visit Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6:00 p.m. (CT), before playing Oakland on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1:00 p.m. (CT). Milwaukee is back home again against IU Indy on Jan. 19 beginning at 6:00 p.m.

CELEBRATING THE SENIORS
Following the conclusion of Saturday's game with Youngstown State, Milwaukee will be honoring the four members that will be playing in their final home weekend contest of their respective Panther careers.

#24 – Jada Donaldson
128 Games (76 Starts), 469 Points, 289 Rebounds, 237 Assists, 9 Blocks, 83 Steals

#4 – Anna Lutz
82 Games (53 Starts), 690 Points, 386 Rebounds, 88 Assists, 59 Blocks, 42 Steals

#00 – Hallie Majoros
34 Games, 42 Points, 9 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Steals

#14 – Kacee Baumhower
95 Games (81 Starts), 1,044 Points, 306 Rebounds, 219 Assists, 17 Blocks, 95 Steals

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
On Monday, Milwaukee had its first in-season award winner of the 2024-25 season as Payton Rechlicz was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week.

Last week Rechlicz shot 60.0 percent from the field, and 100 percent from three. She finished the week with four free throws, eight rebounds, a pair of assists, and a steal.

She becomes the third active player to earn Freshman of the Week honors, joining Jorey Buwalda, who earned the honor three times in 2023-24 and Kamy Peppler, who was named the top rookie during two separate weeks of the 2022-23 campaign.

ALL-TIME IN ASSISTS
Kamy Peppler has a total of 377 assists, currently placing her fifth on the all-time list in Panther history. She is currently 53 behind fourth place, occupied by Angela Rodriguez with 430. The all-time mark in Panther history is held by Pam Bartnik, who finished her career with 469 assists from 1990-94.

With her seven assists on Jan. 16 vs. Oakland, Peppler crossed over the 100-assist plateau for the season, accomplishing the feat in each of her three seasons at Milwaukee. Should Peppler hold onto her team lead, she will become the first Panther since Jen Greger to lead the team for three consecutive seasons with 100+ assists, Greger had 129 in 1994-95, 109 in 1995-96, and 123 in 1996-97.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS
Kacee Baumhower has been putting up large point totals for the Panthers with 20+ point performances in six contests this season.

With her sixth performance of 20+ points in a game on Feb. 1 versus Cleveland State, Baumhower tied Kendall Nead's mark from the 2023-24 season.

The last time a Panther had at least seven games of 20+ points in a game came back in 2016-17, when Milwaukee had both Jenny Lindner (eight times), and Steph Kostowicz (seven times) both reached 20+ points in a game seven-plus times that season.

TOPS IN THE HORIZON
Three Panthers are leading the way in the Horizon League in several statistical categories entering play this weekend. Kamy Peppler leads the HL in assists (124) and assists per game (5.0), while Anna Lutz is third in the league in blocks (26) and seventh in blocks per game (1.0).

Kacee Baumhower is among the league leaders in field goal attempts with 280, field goals made (106), free throws made (70), free throws attempted (86), and points scored (327).

DOUBLE-DIGIT GETTERS
This season, Milwaukee has had 56 instances of players scoring double digits in a game including Kacee Baumhower (16) and Anna Lutz (15) leading the team. Kamy Peppler has accomplished double digits in points 10 times in 2024-25.

The Panthers have also had five double-digit scoring efforts Jorey Buwalda and three from Jada Donaldson. Payton Rechlicz has done so four times, and both Kallie Peppler and Izzy Pugh reaching double digits once each this season.

1,000 FOR BAUMHOWER
In scoring the first four points of the game for Milwaukee against IU Indy on Jan. 29, Kacee Baumhower reached 1,000 for her career. Baumhower has now scored 292 points for the Panthers entering the month of February, coupled with her three points at St. Bonaventure and 714 points at Wright State.

Baumhower becomes the third player to reach 1,000 points in a Panther uniform the past two seasons as she joins Kendall Nead who scored all 1,043 points with Milwaukee, while Vanessa Jurewicz also scored her 1,000th point with MKE early in 2023-24 following a junior college career.

JOINING THE 100 STEAL CLUB
With four steals to tie her career high on Jan. 16 vs. Oakland, Kamy Peppler reached the 100-steal mark for her career. To break into the top-10, Peppler will need another 28 steals this season, as the 10th place occupant is Maria Viall with 137 career steals. The all-time leader is Pam Bartnik with 268 steals in a Panther career.

BUWALDA WITH A NEW CAREER HIGH
Jorey Buwalda had a career-best eight field goal makes in the team's matchup at Northern Kentucky on Jan. 23, eclipsing her previous career-high of six set back on Nov. 23, 2023, against Mississippi Valley State. During both contests, she scored a career-best 20 points.

CAREER DAY FOR LUTZ VS. OAKLAND
On Jan. 16 vs. Oakland, Anna Lutz had a career afternoon as she finished the game with 30 points on 13 field goal makes. Her 30-point performance were the 40th occurrence in Milwaukee basketball history, and first since former teammate Kendall Nead had 38 points against McNeese State on Nov. 17, 2023. Her 13 field goal makes is also tied for sixth in program history in a single game.

In five career games against Oakland, Lutz has shot 33-of-44 (75.0 percent) from the field, 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from three, and has 73 points and 23 rebounds when facing the Golden Grizzlies.

PEPPLER'S DOUBLE DOUBLES
Against Carroll, American, and Wright State, Kamy Peppler recorded the first three double-doubles of her career. While double-doubles are common among points and rebounds, Peppler's came with points and assists; 11 points/10 assists vs. Carroll, 14 points/10 assists vs. American, 11 points/11 assists vs. Wright State.

It was the first time that a Panther had a points-assists double-double since Jaleesa Armstrong had 23 points and 10 assists at Detroit Mercy on Jan. 7, 2015. With her 11-assist effort against Wright State on Jan. 2, she becomes just the second different player to have a points/assists double-double with more than 10 assists, Pam Bartnik had a 14-point/13-assist double-double in the 1992-93 season, and a 12-point/14-assist double-double on in 1993-94.

Peppler is now tied for second in single-season points/assists double-doubles with Angela Rodriguez, who had three during the 2013-14 season. The record is currently four held by Bartnik during the 1993-94 campaign.

PANTHERS FOR THREE
In early January, Iowa State had its NCAA Division I record-setting streak of 945 consecutive games with a three-point basket stopped by Texas Tech. With the Cyclones failing to convert, Milwaukee now takes over the third longest active streak in which it has made at least one three-point basket in 693 games.

All-Time Streaks
1. Iowa State – 945 (1995-2025)
2. Chattanooga – 797 (1999-Present) *
3. South Alabama – 749 (2000-Present) *
4. Dayton – 697 (2001-2024)
5. Milwaukee – 694 (2002-Present) *
* - Active Streak (through Feb. 6, 2025)

TEN FOR THREE
After accomplishing the deed of 10 three-point makes in a game just three times in 2023-24, the Panthers have already done so six times in 2024-25. Milwaukee knocked down 10 three against Carroll on Nov. 6, 11 in the Nov. 14 win over Valparaiso, another 10 against Northern Illinois on Nov. 24, 11 at Cleveland State on Dec. 29, and a season-best 13 against Wright State on Jan. 2 and at home against Cleveland State on Feb. 1. The team has reached double-digit threes 69 times since Kyle Rechlicz has taken over as head coach.

GETTING A WIN IN A CLOSE GAME
Following the team's four-point win over IU Indy on Jan. 29, Milwaukee recorded its first win in games decided by nine points or fewer. The Panthers are now 1-13 in games decided by three or fewer possessions, including four overtime losses.

FROM DISTANCE
After starting the season shooting 37.0 (30-for-81) percent from three over the first four games, the Panthers have struggled from distance the last 18 games connecting on just 30.2 percent (154-for-510).

The Panthers had a season-best nine three pointers in the opening half against Cleveland State on Feb. 1, followed by three halves this season with seven three-point makes including the second half against Robert Morris (Dec. 7), first half against Cleveland State (Dec. 29), and first half against Wright State (Jan. 2).

Milwaukee has been kept off the scoresheet from distance in two halves this season, the second half against Air Force (Nov. 28), and the second half against Youngstown State (Dec. 4).

BALANCING THE FIRST AND SECOND HALVES
Overall, this season Milwaukee has been consistent in its shooting by making 39.7 percent (281-for-707) of its shots in the first half and 40.3 percent (269-for-667) in the second half. In overtime, the Panthers are 7-for-30 (23.3 percent).

IN OVERTIME
With the team's four overtime losses this season, Milwaukee is now 21-27 in all-time overtime games since joining the Division I level prior to the 1990-91 season. The Panthers have gone to overtime on three occasions in season openers, winning 84-77 over Parkside in 2019-20, and falling to Ball State by an 84-75 score to begin the 2021-22 campaign.

This season is the 13th time in program history that the Panthers have had multiple overtime games in one season, most recently during the 2020-21 season. With four games going beyond the allotted 40 minutes, the 2024-25 season has seen the most overtime games in one season in program history. The previous record was three set on six occasions (2008-09, 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06, 1999-2000, and 1996-97).

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. Since 2016-17, Milwaukee is 113-44 (.720) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 97-24 (.802).

When shooting under 40 percent, Milwaukee is 26-90 (.224).

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since the 2022-23 season, when Milwaukee has committed 11 fouls or fewer, the Panthers are 11-2. On the contrary, the Panthers are 8-29 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.

IN THE PAINT
In 2023-24, when Milwaukee scored more than 25 points in the paint the Panthers had a 12-7 record, while the team was 4-11 when scoring fewer than 25 points in the paint.

This year, the Panthers are 4-9 thus far on the season when scoring 25 or more points in the paint. Milwaukee is 1-11 when scoring fewer than 25 points in the paint, with a season-low 11 against Green Bay on Dec. 11. The Panthers picked up the win over Wright State on Jan. 2 while scoring 24 points in the paint.

OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
Dating back to the 2022-23 season, the Panthers have pulled down double-digits in offensive rebounds in 34 of their 71 games and scored 673 second-chance points. Last season, the Panthers had a season-best 20 offensive rebounds against Viterbo and eclipsed that mark with 21 in the team's Nov. 4 matchup to open the 2024-25 season at St. Thomas.

HIGH SHOOTING PERCENTAGE, WRONG RESULT
Milwaukee shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the field in the Jan. 4 loss to Northern Kentucky, the team's highest shooting percentage in a loss this season. It was the team's highest shooting percentage in a loss since last season, when the Panthers also shot 45.8 percent (22-of-48) at home against Oakland on Feb. 24, 2024.

LOW, LOW, LOW
After holding Central Michigan to just 26.2 percent from the field, Milwaukee's defense topped that performance on Jan. 2 against Wright State as the Raiders finished the game shooting 26.0 percent (19-for-73). The mark was the lowest since the Panthers' historic performance against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 29, 2022, where the Titans finished with a .175 shooting percentage (7-for-40).

Wright State also shot 4-of-28 from three, which was also a season-best by the Panther defense as WSU finished at 14.4 percent. Last season, Milwaukee held Robert Morris (Jan. 11) and Cleveland State (Feb. 17) to identical 2-for-19 performances (10.5 percent).

FREQUENT FLIER MILES
Since Milwaukee played three consecutive games at home from Nov. 6 through Nov. 14, the Panthers have played nine of its next 11 games away from home. In total the team will travel 9,123 miles beginning with the team's trip to Madison to take on Wisconsin on Nov. 17 and wrapping up with the team's trip to the Wolstein Center in Cleveland against Cleveland State on Dec. 29.

By comparison, the Panthers will travel an estimated approximately 2,978 miles the rest of the season, which includes trips to Purdue Fort Wayne, Northern Kentucky, Wright State, IU Indy, Detroit Mercy, Oakland, and Green Bay.

FREE THROW FRENZY
Against Valparaiso on Nov. 14, the Panthers took 37 trips to the free throw line and converted 29.

It was the first time that Milwaukee made 29 free throws in a game since Dec. 30, 2006, when they made 29 against UIC at the Klotsche Center. It was the first time the Panthers took 37 free throw attempts in a game since the team also had 37 against Columbia at home on Nov. 16, 2018.

NINETY IN NON-OVERTIME
On Nov. 14 against Valparaiso, Milwaukee put 90 points on the scoreboard, which was the first time that the team had scored 90 points against a Division I opponent since last season's overtime win against Wright State on Jan. 26 (93-87).

The last time the Panthers scored 90 points in a regulation game against a Division I opponent was on Feb. 23, 2018, in a 90-45 win at home against Detroit Mercy.

50 BOARDS
After coming within five rebounds on three occasions in 2023-24, including a season-best 49 against Wright State on Jan. 26, the team posted 50 rebounds in the 2024-25 season opener against St. Thomas. It was the first time Milwaukee had 50 rebounds in a game since the team had 56 in a neutral site matchup against Boise State on Nov. 27, 2022.

CLOSING IN ON 500
Milwaukee currently has with 492 wins at the Division I level, dating back to its inaugural DI season in 1990-91. MA Kelling led the team with 57 wins over the first five year, while Jenny Sell won four games in 1995-96. Sandy Botham had 245 wins, while current head coach Kyle Rechlicz has added 186 to the all-time total.

YEAR 13 FOR RECHLICZ
Milwaukee is led by Kyle Rechlicz, who enters year 13 as the head coach of the Panthers and is the Horizon League's most veteran coach with the retirement of Green Bay's Kevin Borseth earlier this summer. Cleveland State's Chris Kielsmeier is second in the league beginning his tenure in 2018-19 (7th season in 2024-25).

GREEN GETS THE CALL
Milwaukee Athletics announced its Bud K. Haidet Hall of Fame Class for 2024. The list included Milwaukee basketball's Ashley Green, who played for the Panthers from 2011-15.

She finished her career with 1,653 points, which is currently fifth on the all-time scoring list. She is also one of just five Panthers in program history to finish their career with 1,000+ points and 500+ rebounds, finishing with 781 in her 119 career games. Green finished her career with 17 double-doubles, the eighth most in program history.

CHECK THAT DIAL
This season, Milwaukee has made the move to one of the leading audio providers in all of college sports with their audio-only streams now available online directly through the team's home website MKEPanthers.com, as well as on The Varsity Network. Fans can download 'Varsity Network' in the App Store on iOS devices and Google Play and search "Milwaukee" to find the live audio stream of Panther games.