MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee women's basketball heads back on the road Wednesday night, traveling south for a Horizon League matchup at Northern Kentucky. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. (CT) at Truist Arena in Highland Heights.
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats of the game also available. Links to the broadcast and live stats can be found on MKEPanthers.com. 
 
THE MATCHUP & GAME LINKS
Wednesday, Jan. 14 | Milwaukeee at Northern Kentucky | Truist Arena | Highland Heights, Ky. | 5:00 p.m. (CT) | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
QUICK NOTES
» Milwaukee saw its brief two-game win streak snapped on Saturday as the Panthers fell to Oakland by a 66-45 score on Saturday afternoon.
» The Panthers shot a season-worst .296, matching their exact shooting percentage from the team's game at Wisconsin at 16-of-54 from the field.
» Kendall Barnes led Milwaukee in scoring for the second time this season with 10 points in the loss, while Payton Rechlicz added eight points. Grace Lomen was the team's leading rebounder with five boards, her second time leading the Panthers in boards in 2025-26.
» Northern Kentucky is tied for the hottest team in the league having won its last five games, including a win at Robert Morris its last time out, 81-76 in Pennsylvania.
» In the win, NKU connected on 12 three pointers, their fourth time hitting on double digits from range this season. Taysha Rushton led the team with five three pointers and had 19 points, while Mya Meredith scored 17 points. Leading the way for the Norse was Karina Bystry with 24 points including a 13-for-15 effort from the stripe and 3-of-6 from three.
» Northern Kentucky swept last season's series from Milwaukee, winning 68-65 in Milwaukee and earning a 66-62 win at Truist Arena. It was the fourth season series sweep by the Norse, having previously done so in 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2022-23.
» In 21 all-time meetings, Norther Kentucky has a 14-7 record, which includes a 7-3 home record at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
» Milwaukee returns home to take on Green Bay. Milwaukee will celebrate Alumni Day, featuring the 20th reunion of the 2005-06 team and the 25th reunion of the 2000-01 team, both NCAA Championship qualifying teams in program history.

QUICK LOOK AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
After starting the season 3-11, the Northern Kentucky Norse have rolled off five-straight wins, all coming in Horizon League play. The Norse have defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (88-85), IU Indy (63-44), Detroit Mercy (75-57), Youngstown State (61-49), and Robert Morris (81-76) along the stretch and will host Milwaukee before consecutive road games at Wright State and IU Indy.

During the team's five-game winning streak Karina Bystry has averaged 17 points per game, over four points per game above her season average, while also shooting 50 percentage points higher (.403) than her season average (.351). As a team, the Norse have knocked down 40.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three, both well above their season averages at 38.6 percent overall and 31.0 percent from three.

While Milwaukee is tops in the Horizon League in bench points per game (27.2), the Norse are second in the league using their deep bench to contribute 25.6 points per contest this season. NKU also lives by the three-point shot and are second in the league in attempted threes per game while it is third in three pointer makes per game at 7.3. The Norse have knocked down 44 three pointers per game over their last five games (8.8 per game) to boost their season average.

Ten of 15 active players this season for Northern Kentucky have started at least three games, while Maddie Moody leads the team with 16 starts over 19 contests this season. Moody is second on the team in minutes played (25.8), trailing only Karina Bystry, who has started in 15 games and averages 27.1 minutes per game. Noelle Hubert, who had started 12 of the previous 13 games was sat in favor of Mya Meredith this past weekend during the team's trip to Youngstown State and Robert Morris.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Karina Bystry – 19 GP / 15 GS, 27.1 MPG, 12.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 25 AST, 20 STL
Maddie Moody – 19 GP / 16 GS, 25.8 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 16 STL, 15, BLK
Taysha Rushton – 19 GP / 12 GS, 25.7 MPG, 8.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 38 AST, 15 STL
Mya Meredith – 19 GP / 7 GS, 22.9 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 31 AST, 26 STL

UP NEXT
Wrapping up the three-game road trip with Northern Kentucky, the Panthers will return to the Klotsche Center for their next three contests. Milwaukee will welcome Green Bay on Jan. 17 at 1:00 p.m., before hosting Detroit Mercy on Jan. 22 and Oakland on Jan. 24 the following week.

LAST MEETING
The last meeting between Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky came nearly a year ago on Jan. 23, 2025, in Highland Heights. NKU took an 18–13 lead after the opening quarter and maintained a similar advantage throughout the game en route to a 66–62 win.

Jorey Buwalda recorded her lone 20-point performance as a sophomore, coming off the bench for the Panthers to go along with a team-best seven rebounds. Payton Rechlicz scored seven points with five rebounds, while both Jada Williams and Izzy Pugh added a basket. Four Norse starters finished in double figures, including Mya Meredith and Macey Blevins with 13 points apiece, while Abby Wolterman and Halle Idowu each scored 10.

ON THIS DATE
Milwaukee is 3–7 all-time in games played on Jan. 14 and is currently riding a three-game winning streak on the date following seven consecutive losses. All three wins came in Horizon League play, as the Panthers defeated Loyola Chicago, 72–58, in 2011; UIC, 76–53, in 2018; and Cleveland State, 56–52, in 2021.

QUICK STARTS FROM DISTANCE
In Milwaukee's win over Detroit Mercy on Jan. 8, the Panthers knocked down six three-pointers in the opening quarter, including three by Grace Lomen. It tied the most three-pointers in a quarter this season, a mark first set in the opening quarter at home against Ripon on Dec. 14.

Milwaukee has connected on at least five three-pointers four times this season, all in the first quarter. The Panthers made five triples in the opening frame at Northern Illinois (Nov. 7) and at Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 10), while knocking down six in the first quarter against both Ripon (Dec. 14) and Detroit Mercy (Jan. 8).

COMEBACK WINS
In Milwaukee's Jan. 4 win over Cleveland State, the Panthers erased a 16-point second-half deficit to earn a 66–58 victory. The 16-point comeback was tied for the fifth-largest deficit overcome in program history, with the record standing at 22 points after Milwaukee rallied from a first-half deficit against Navy on Nov. 30, 1997.

In addition to erasing the 16-point deficit, the Panthers also trailed by 12 points at halftime before coming back to win—tied for the fifth-largest halftime comeback in program history. The program record is 16, set when Milwaukee trailed Kansas City 36–20 on Jan. 30, 1992, before winning 70–64.

Erasing the 12-point halftime deficit and winning by eight represented a 20-point turnaround, again tied for the fifth-largest in program history. The program record is +28, achieved after trailing SIU Edwardsville 39–34 on Nov. 26, 2008, before winning 88–65.

Earlier this season on Nov. 17, Milwaukee erased a 31–29 halftime deficit to defeat Valparaiso, 72–67. It marked the first comeback win of the season and extended a streak of at least one comeback victory every year since 1995–96. The program record for comeback wins in a season is seven (2016–17 and 2019–20).

500 DIVISION I WINS
With Milwaukee's win over Cleveland State on Jan. 4, the women's basketball program earned its 500th Division I victory dating back to its inaugural 1990–91 season. MA Kelling led the program with 57 wins over its first five years, Jenny Sell recorded four wins in 1995–96, Sandy Botham totaled 245 victories, and current head coach Kyle Rechlicz has added 192.

MIXING & MATCHING
Milwaukee has used 10 different starting lineups through the first 16 games of the season, while 12 of the 13 active players on the roster have made at least one start. Kendall Barnes became the most recent Panther to make her first career start on Dec. 29, 2025, at IU Indy.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR BUWALDA
Jorey Buwalda entered her junior season with two career double-doubles and has added six more in 2025–26, recording them against Loyola Chicago, Valparaiso, Purdue Fort Wayne, Ripon, IU Indy, and Detroit Mercy. Her 17 rebounds against Valparaiso and Ripon marked new career highs.

With double-doubles in three consecutive games from Dec. 10 through Dec. 29, Buwalda became just the 18th player in program history to record double-doubles in three straight contests. The program record is six, set by Avyanna Young from Feb. 21 through Mar. 12, 2014.

FOUR STEALS, ONE GAME
Three different Panthers have recorded four-steal performances 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 in a game since Feb. 19, 2021, when Miquela Santoro tallied six against UIC.

GOMES IN THE FOURTH
Rita Gomes knocked down three three-pointers in the fourth quarter against UC Davis on Nov. 29. It was her second such performance this season after accomplishing the same feat 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 during Milwaukee's 93–87 overtime win against Wright State on Jan. 26, 2024.

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 against Robert Morris on Jan. 20, 2023. Buwalda matched the effort with 17 rebounds again against Ripon on Dec. 14.
On the other side, UC Davis' Megan Norris became the first opposing player to record 15 or more rebounds against Milwaukee since Marquette's Chloe Marotta grabbed 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 overtime 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.

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 the 2022–23 season.

A DOZEN THREES IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES
Milwaukee made 13 three-pointers on Dec. 10 at Purdue Fort Wayne and followed it with 12 more on Dec. 14 against Ripon. It marked the first time the Panthers have made at least a dozen three-pointers in consecutive games since late February 2013, when Milwaukee hit 12 at Valparaiso (Feb. 21) and 12 at Wright State (Feb. 23).

The 25 three-pointers over the two-game span are the most for the Panthers since earlier in the 2012–13 season, when Milwaukee combined for 25 on 11 threes at Toledo (Dec. 8, 2012) and 14 more at DePaul (Dec. 11, 2012).

TEN FOR THREE
After posting just three games with 10 or more three-pointers in 2023–24, Milwaukee rebounded with eight such performances in 2024–25 and has recorded three more so far in 2025–26. Under Kyle Rechlicz, the Panthers have made at least 10 three-pointers in a game 74 times.

MAGIC NUMBER
Since 2016–17, Milwaukee is 121–45 (.729) when shooting at least 40 percent from the field. When shooting 43 percent or better, the Panthers improve to 104–25 (.806). When shooting below 40 percent, Milwaukee is 27–104 (.206).

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

This season, Milwaukee is shooting 38.3 percent (180-of-470) in first halves, 40.5 percent (197-of-486) in second halves, and 33.3 percent (2-of-6) in overtime.

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since 2022–23, Milwaukee is 13–2 when committing 11 or fewer fouls. Conversely, the Panthers are 12–33 when committing 18 or more..

IN THE PAINT
Since the start of the 2023–24 season, Milwaukee is 25–21 when scoring more than 25 points in the paint and 5–32 when scoring fewer than 25.

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).

CLOSE GAMES
In 2024–25, Milwaukee went 3–14 in games decided by nine points or fewer. Those 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 2–4 in games decided by single digits.

IN OVERTIME
Last season, Milwaukee set a program record by appearing in four overtime games and now owns a 22–27 all-time 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 so far in 2025–26.