Game Notes
Live Stats
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PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Gorillas return to action for a 1:30 p.m. game against Northeastern State on Saturday (Pitt State has had a week since its last game. The last time Pitt State and Northeastern State met was also a one-game week for the Gorillas.
Scouting Northeastern State
Northeastern State is 17-6 overall and 12-3 in MIAA play. The team has gone 5-1 since Pitt State traveled to Tahlequah at the end of January. The Riverhawks are currently third in the MIAA standings and have secured a berth in the MIAA Tournament. The team’s losses in conference play were to Lincoln, Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri. Most recently the team earned at 56-48 win over Missouri Southern on Wednesday night.
The Roverhawks outscore opponents by approximately 11 points per game, 63.7 to 52.7. The team shoots at a .431 clip overall and .380 from three-point range. Their three-point schooting percentage currently ranks second in the MIAA.
Taylor Lewis leads the Riverhawks with 15.7 points per game. She is the team’s leading three-point shooter, shooting .423 from long range. She has made 69 threes on the season, hitting right at three threes a game. She leads the MIAA in free throw percentage as she hits .895 from the charity stripe. Tosha Tyler also averages double figures with 11.4 points per game. She leads the team in steals with 27, though she is one of four players with 20 or more steals on the season. Sarah Green is the team’s leading rebounder, pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in assists with 54. Carrington Fox is the team’s shot blocker. She has blocked 41 shots on the season, including three against Missouri Southern on Wednesday.
Scouting Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State is 14-7 overall and 8-5 in MIAA play. The Gorillas won back-to-back games over Truman and Southwest Baptist at home last week after losing three straight while on the road. The Gorillas are currently tied for sixth in the league standings with Fort Hays State with five games left to play. If the Gorillas can move into the top four in the league standings the team will get a bye for the first round of the MIAA Tournament. If the team finishes fifth through eighth, they will host a first round game at John Lance Arena on Tuesday, March 5.
Pitt State is hitting 43.7 percent of its shots from the floor, while holding opponents to a 35.6 shooting percentage. Pitt State has held each of its last two opponents to under a .325 shooting percentage, including holding Truman to .237 last week. The team is outscoring opponents by almost 10 points per game, 68.1 to 58.7. The Gorillas are also tough on the glass, outrebounding their foes 39.2 to 36.0, though that rebounding margin as been getting small as of late. Pitt State shoots .327 from three point range and .701 from the charity stripe.
Pitt State has only one player scoring in double figures, as Lizzy Jeronimus scores nearly 20 points per game at 18.6 ppg. Jeronimus also leads Pitt State in assists with 55 and is the second leading rebounder with 6.5 rpg. Morgan Westhoff comes off the bench to score 9.3 ppg as the Gorillas’ second leading scorer. Westhoff is the team’s top three-point shooter, as she has made 39 of 91 threes on the year for a .429 shooting percentage from long range. Lauren Brown leads the team in rebounds with 7.9 rpg after setting the school record with 22 rebounds against Northwest Missouri. Brown also leads the team in blocked shots with 40.
PSU vs. Northeastern State
Northeastern State has a one-game lead in the all-time series with Pittsburg State, 11-10. The Gorillas lead the series in Pittsburg 7-4 and at neutral sites, 2-1, but the Riverhawks lead in Tahlequah 6-1. The longest streak of wins in the series was six by the Northeastern from Jan. 4, 1985 to Nov. 25,1988. Pitt State’s longest string of wins has been four from Dec. 18, 1991 to Dec. 6, 1996.
The most points scored by either team in a game has been 79 twice by Pitt State in a 79-76 win in Pittsburg on Dec. 18, 1993 and a 79-62 win in Bolivar, Mo. on Dec. 6, 1996. The largest margin of victory in the series was 23 (71-48) points by PSU in the Jan. 7, 1984 meeting in Pittsburg. NSU’s largest margin of victory has been 22 points on Jan. 10, 1987. The team’s met up three times last season. Each team won on its home court, but the Gorillas won the most important game of the season, a 68-54 victory in the NCAA Regional in Topeka.
The Riverhawks won the earlier meeting this season, 65-60 in Tahlequah.
