Full Game Notes
PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Gorilla basketball teams will play their first doubleheader of the season on Tuesday at William Jewell with the women's game beginning at 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Gorillas will cap off a busy weekend of basketball in John Lance Arena with a non-conference game against Northwest Missouri at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Scouting William Jewell
William Jewell has a 2-1 record coming into the game with the Gorillas. All three of the Cardinals games have been against MIAA opponents. The team lost its first game of the season to Central Missouri, 68-85, before defeating Lincoln, 86-70, and Northwest Missouri, 84-82.
The Cardinals have averaged 79.3 points and 33.0 points per game, while allowing opponents 79.0 points and 41.7 points per game. The team shoots .425 overall amd .391 f rom three-point range.
Five William Jewell players are averaging double figures, led by Chelseas Meeks with 15.3 ppg. Cassy Nicolay adds 13.0, Jesse Wheeler, 11.3, and Maddie Nelson and Aerial Smith, 10.0 ppg a piece. Smith leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game, while Nicolay is just behind her with 5.3 rpg. Kelsey Nickerson has made a team-high six threes this season, while Wheeler has made five.
Scouting Northwest Missouri
Northwest Missouri is in their first season under head coach Micahel Smith, who is very familiar with the MIAA after spending five season at the hel, of the program at Truman. The team is 0-3 thus far, with losses to Quincy (47-68), Truman (71-91) and William Jewell (82-84).
The team has averaged 66.7 points per game, while allowing opponents 81.0 ppg. The Bearcats pull down 31.0 rebounds per game. The team has struggled with turnovers with just over 20 per game.
Ariel Easton is the team's leading scorer with 20.0 ppg. Ashleigh Nelson adds 15.0 ppg. Annie Matthews, 7.0 rpg, and Shelby Mustain, 6.0 rpg, are the team's top rebounders. Easton is the team's top three-point shooter, having made nine this season.
Scouting Pittsburg State
Pitt State is 3-2 this season after winning two regional games over Henderson State and MInnesota-Duluth last week.
The Gorillas are outscoring their opponents, 74.0 to 70.4 in their first five games. The team also holds a slight rebounding advantage over its opponents 39.8 rpg to 36.8 rpg. The Gorillas are hitting 42 percent of their shots overall and 36 percent from three point range.
Lizzy Jeronimus leads the team with 19.6 ppg. Morgan Westhoff has come of the bench in four of the five games to average 13.8 ppg. Alexa Bordewick is just under double figures with 9.8 ppg. Jeronimus also leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 rpg and assists with 13. Westhoff is the team's top three-point shooter as she has already made 18 in the first five games and is hooting 52 percent from long range.
PSU vs. William Jewell
The Gorillas and Cardinals have met three times with William Jewell winning all three games. The first meeting between the two teams on December 15, 1990 resulted in the Gorillas' falling by a score of 92-95.
The second meeting between the two sides, in 1991, resulted in a William Jewell victory by a score of 74-61 in Liberty, Mo. The teams also met last season with William Jewell earning a two-point win in Pittsburg, 66-68.
Pitt State vs. Northwest Missouri
Pitt State leads the series with Northwest Missouri 27-20. Each team leads on its home court, with Pitt State leading 16-5 in Pittsburg and the Bearcats lead 12-10 in Maryville. Northwest leads on neutral sites, 3-1.
Pitt State has won each of the last three meetings between the two teams by an average of 25 points. Pitt State's 88-48 win in Pittsburg on Feb. 4 was the largest win of the series by either team.
The Gorillas have the longest streak of wins in the series, having won seven straight games from Jan. 10, 1993 to Feb. 17, 1996. The Bearcats longest streak of wins was four games from Nov. 19, 1988 to Jan. 11, 1992 and from March 4, 2010 to March 5, 2011.
The most points scored in the series were the 106 points by the Gorillas on Feb. 8, 2010.
Up Next
The Gorillas will play one game next week, a 6 p.m. game at Quincy on Wednesday (Nov. 27). The two teams met last season in Pittsburg, with the Gorillas winning, 71-65.
She Shoots, She Scores
Junior Lizzy Jeronimus is one of 17 players in school history to score 1,000 points in her career. She finished her sophomore season with 1,020 points, having scored them in 60 games, second fastest to the 1,000 point mark in school history. Now with 1,118 points, Jeronimus is the 12th leading all-time scorer, just passing former teammate Drew Roberts. She is 109 points from 11th and 113 points from passing current assistant coach Amanda Davied to moveinto the top 10.
Jeronimus has scored in double figures in all but six games in her career and in 38 straight games, dating back to Feb. 25, 2012, her freshman season. She has scored 20 points or more in four of five games this season and in 24 career games.
Westhoff for THREEEEEE
Junior Morgan Westhoff has already hit 18 threes this season, including a career-high seven threes against Indianapolis. She is only the third person to make seven or more threes in a game in school history. Kara Kinney made eight threes twice in the 2005-06 season. Pitt State's prolific three-point shooting Jenni Miller hit eight threes in a game three times in her career, nine threes once and a school record 11 threes on Jan. 28, 1995 against Truman.
Westhoff has made 85 threes in just over two years at Pitt State, averaging just over one a game for her career. Last season she hit she under two threes a game. This season she has paced herself just under four threes per game.
