WBB-FCS: Milwaukee Panthers (6-9) at Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons (5-12)

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Milwaukee closes a four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon, heading to Indiana to take on Purdue Fort Wayne. The Panthers are looking for their eighth straight victory over the Mastodons, dating back to the 2015-16 season. Tipoff from Gates Sports Center is set for 1:00 pm CT and can be viewed on ESPN+. Live stats and live audio will also be available with Matt Menzl on the call. All links are available on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne earned a split on the opening weekend of Horizon League play but has dropped four straight games since and sit at 2-5 in league play.
 
The Mastodons most recently fell to Green Bay 60-32 on Thursday night.
 
Amellia Bromenschenkel leads second-year head coach Maria Marchesano’s squad with 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Shayla Sellers has also been solid, recording 8.1 points and 4.1 boards per game.
 
Defensively, Purdue Fort Wayne ranks second in the league with 3.59 blocks per game and is tied for first with 10.0 steals per contest.
 
The Mastodons are ninth in the Horizon League with a -6.1 scoring margin, averaging just 58.1 points per game.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Emma Wittmershaus knocked down two free throws with just 1.9 seconds remaining as Milwaukee held off Purdue Fort Wayne 53-51 on February 26. The Mastodons had a furious comeback and outscored MKE 20-9 in the final period, but the Panthers hung on for the win.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee has picked up seven straight wins over Purdue Fort Wayne dating back to the 2015-16 season. Overall, the Panthers own an 8-2 advantage. Both Mastodon wins over MKE were in Fort Wayne.
 
WHATS ON TAP?
Milwaukee returns home for a weekend series beginning with Robert Morris on Friday, January 20 in the annual School Day game. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:00 am from the Klotsche Center.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Cleveland State caught fire after halftime and outscored Milwaukee 52-24 in the second half to hand the Panthers an 81-50 setback on Thursday night at the Wolstein Center.
 
SECOND HALF STRUGGLES
The Milwaukee defense has been strong this year, but recently, the Panthers have been running out of steam in the second half.
 
Over the last three games, MKE is giving up an average of 47.3 points in the second half. Opponents are shooting 53.2 percent from the floor and 59.4 percent (19-for-32) from three-point range over the final 20 minutes.
 
WELCOME BACK, ANNA
After missing two games, Anna Lutz return on Thursday and made a major impact with a team-high 10 points and seven rebounds. The redshirt freshman finished 4-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Lutz finished with a plus/minus of plus-five, the only Panther positive that played at least 10 minutes against Cleveland State.
 
FINDING THE RANGE
Milwaukee was held without a three-pointer in the first half of Thursday’s game but found success in the second half.
 
The Panthers knocked down five of seven three-pointers after the break against Cleveland State.
 
MKE has hit at least five three-pointers in five straight games.
 
Over the last five games, Kamy Peppler is 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from long range and has hit at least two triples in four contests.
 
PEPPLER PULLS IN HONOR
In the two games last weekend, Kamy Peppler averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep.
 
That line earned her Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors for the first time this season.
 
Peppler came alive in the fourth quarter against NKU for 14 points and finished with 16 and seven rebounds. In Saturday’s win over Wright State, Peppler went off for a career-high 17 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor and 7-for-8 performance from the line. She added four assists in the win. Peppler has now reached double figures in three of the last four games and is shooting 45.9 percent from the floor in Horizon League action.
 
STARTING TO HEAT UP
Preseason First Team All-League honoree Megan Walstad has been held down for much of the season but is starting to heat up.
 
Over the last four games, Walstad is averaging 12.0 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the free throw line.
 
The senior pulled in a season-high 12 rebounds against Northern Kentucky and followed with a season-high 18 points to go with nine boards in the win over Wright State.
 
OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
The Panthers have recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in three straight contests and have made the most of their chances.
In those three games, Milwaukee has totaled 33 second-chance points.
 
STRONG ON THE GLASS
The Panthers owned the rebounding battle at Wright State 39-19 to record their best margin of the season at plus-20. It marks the highest rebounding margin since MKE was plus-22 on the glass in a 58-35 win over UIC on February 19, 2021.
 
Milwaukee has always prided itself on rebounding and the Panthers have dominated the boards in league play.
 
In seven games, the Panthers own the top rebounding Margin of 7.6 boards per game.
 
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 seven seasons, Milwaukee is 88-25 (.779) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 68-12 (.850).
 
When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 25-63 (.294).
 
The Panthers have been held under 40 percent in eight games this year, going 1-8 in those contests.
 
COMING ALIVE IN LEAGUE PLAY
Kendall Nead added two more double-digit scoring performances to her ledger and has scored at least 12 points in five of the last six games.
 
In seven Horizon League contests, Nead is averaging a team-high 13.3 points to go with 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In league play, Nead is shooting 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from long range.
 
After hitting just two three-pointers in the first 10 games this season, the sophomore has connected for at least two triples in four of the last five contests.
 
DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY
The Panthers’ defense continues to be a factor this season as Milwaukee ranks in the top five of the Horizon League in points allowed and field goal percentage defense.
 
MKE is allowing just 57.4 points per game through six league contests and holding the opposition to 36.3 percent shooting overall and 28.6 percent from long range.
 
In the two wins over Detroit Mercy and Oakland in late December, the Panthers allowed just 39.0 points per game on 22.5 percent shooting. The two teams were just 8-for-42 (19.0 percent) from long range.
 
Neither the Titans nor Golden Grizzlies reached 50 points, the first time MKE has held opponents to under 50 in back-to-back games since November 18-20 of last season. In those games, MKE opened league play 2-0 while holding Wright State to 47 points and Northern Kentucky to 49.
 
RECORD-SETTING WIN
Defense was the story in a win over Detroit Mercy on December 29, setting multiple program bests.
 
The Panthers held the Titans to 29 points, the lowest for an opponent in NCAA Division I history surpassing Valparaiso’s 31 from February 25, 2012.
 
Detroit also converted just 17.5 percent of its field goals, the lowest field goal percentage for an opponent since MKE held Youngstown State to 19.4 percent on March 6, 2010.
 
The seven made field goals for Detroit were also an opponent program-low for the Panthers, four fewer than the previous mark.
 
PRESEASON HONORS FOR WALSTAD
Megan Walstad was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team following another impressive campaign in 2021-22. Walstad dominated down low, earning her second straight First Team All-League award last season. She led the team and was among the league’s leaders in points per game (14.4), rebounds per game (9.1), field goal percentage (48.8), free throw percentage (88.9), and blocks per game (1.5). Walstad was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.
 
Walstad joined a group of just three others in program history to earn All-League First Team honors on more than one occasion in the Panthers’ Division I era and is just the second in MKE history to earn All-Defensive Team distinction multiple times.
 
Additionally, Walstad was one of 25 players to be named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason Watch List.
 
MISS BASKETBALL IN THE HOUSE
Freshman Kamy Peppler was crowned 2022 Miss Basketball for Wisconsin but it’s not the first time Milwaukee has had a student-athlete with that title arrive on campus.
 
In fact, Megan Walstad earned that title in her home state of Minnesota after leading Eastview High School to a perfect 32-0 record as a senior.
 
Prior to that, just one other player in program history donned the title of Miss Basketball. Meredith Onson (2005-08) was a consensus Wisconsin Player of the year in 2002-03. Onson originally attended Boston University but transfered to Milwaukee for the 2004-05 season.