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PITTSBURG, Kan. --This is the final week of regular season play for the Gorillas. The team gets to wrap up the regular season on its home court against Missouri Southern and Emporia State. The team is playing for its seeding in the MIAA Tournament and the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, which mean a first round bye is still up for grabs.
Wednesday’s game against Missouri Southern is the annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness and is the second game to determine the women’s basketball point for the Sonic Trophy Series. Via Christi and Angels Among Us will be on hand with giveaways and information on breast cancer awareness, early dectection and treatment. Sonic will also have giveaways and will sponsor the halftime promotions.
Saturday will be Senior Day. Seniors Drew Roberts, Lisa Elmer and Lauren Brown will be recognized along with the four men’s basketball seniors (JaVon McGee, Rico Pierrevilus, Courtney Ingram and Marky Nolen) immediately after the women’s game. Drew Roberts and JaVon McGee will also be presented with balls commemorating their scoring 1,000 career points prior to their respective games.
Scouting Missouri Southern
Missouri Southern is 12-12 overall and 6-10 in MIAA play. The Lions are 2-9 in their last 11 games, including their last game against the Gorillas. The team lost six games straight before defeating Southwest Baptist, then lost three more before a two-point win over Central Oklahoma on Monday night. That game had been moved from mid-week last week due to the winter storm that passed through most of the MIAA. The Lions are ninth in the MIAA standings and have clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament.
Southern is averaging 62.8 points and 34.8 rebounds per game. They allow opponents to 62.9 points and 32.2 rebounds per game. The team shoots .427 overall, .292 from three-point range and .702 from the charity stripe. The team commits 19.8 turnovers a game.
Erin Rice leads the team with 10.0 ppg. She shoots .435 from the floor and .746 from the free throw line. Dominique Mosley chips in 9.1 ppg and is the second leading rebounder with 5.0 rpg. Shonte Clay adds 7.4 ppg and leads the team with 5.1 rpg. Jolee Sharp scores 6.1 ppg and is the team’s second leading three-point shooter, having hit 19 threes in 59 attempts on the year. Shatara Stone adds 6.1 ppg. Tee Singleton leads the team with 64 assists and 34 steals. She adds only 5.5 points per game overall, but has added 6.4 ppg in conference play. Johnna tenBerge is the top three point shooting, as she has made 21 threes on the year.
Scouting Emporia State
Emporia State has a 16-6 record overall and an 11-5 record in MIAA play. The Lady Hornets are tied with the Gorillas for fifth in the conference standings and have clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament. The team was on a nine-game win streak before it was snapped last week by a three-point win by the Gorillas in Emporia. The team then fell to Northeastern State, 66-56. The Lady Hornets will face Washburn in Emporia before wrapping up the season in Pittsburg on Saturday.
The Lady Hornets are shooting .415 from the floor and .351 from three-point range. The team averages 69.3 ppg, while allowing opponents only 61.4 ppg. It outrebounds its opponents by 3.5 rpg, 39.0 to 35.5.
Three Lady Hornet players average double figures on the season. Laura Patrick leads the team with 14.4 pg. She is the team’s top three-point shooter with 58 on the season. Rachel Hanf scores 12.9 ppg and is just behind Patrick with 52 made threes, but leads in three-point shooting percentage with a .400. Merissa Quick scores 11.4 ppg, helped by a 31 point performance against the Gorillas last week, and is the second leading rebounder with 6.0 rpg. She leads the team with 48 blocked shots and has the team’s leading shooting percentage with a .556 average. Rheanna Egli leads the team with 88 assists and 32 steals. Desiree Wylie is the leading rebounder with 6.6 rpg.
Scouting Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State is 17-7 overall and 11-5 in MIAA play. Pitt State has now won five straight games, including road wins over Emporia State and Central Oklahoma last week. The team has secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament and is currently tied for fifth in the league standings. 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 44.1 percent of its shots from the floor, while holding opponents to a 35.8 shooting percentage. The team is outscoring opponents by 9.6 points per game, 68.8 to 59.2. The Gorillas are also tough on the glass, outrebounding their foes 39.0 to 35.4, though that rebounding margin as been getting smaller as of late. Pitt State shoots .336 from three point range and .699 from the charity stripe.
Pitt State has only one player scoring in double figures, as Lizzy Jeronimus scores 18.3 ppg. Jeronimus also leads Pitt State in assists with 66, steals with 25 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 44 of 104 threes on the year for a .423 shooting percentage from long range. Lauren Brown leads the team in rebounds with 8.1 rpg and leads the team in blocked shots with 44. She averages 7.5 ppg. Drew Roberts chips in 7.3 ppg. Alexa Bordewicks average has been boosted by her three-point shooting of late. She has made 15 threes in the last four games and her average is now up to 6.1 ppg.
PSU vs. Missouri Southern
Pitt State leads the series with Missouri Southern 43-39 after winning each of the last five meetings, including the earlier meeting this season. Each team leads at its home venue, with Pitt State leading 25-15 in Pittsburg and Missouri Southern leading 23-16 in Joplin. The teams are tied 1-1 at neutral sites. Pitt State has won seven of the last 10 meetings. Pitt State won the earlier meeting this season on Jan. 16 in Joplin, 66-63. The Gorillas are currently on a five-game win streak in the series, including four regular season meetings and one MIAA Tournament meeting in 2011. Missouri Southern opened the series, which began on Dec. 13, 1974, with an eight game win streak. PSU did not earn its first win in the series until a one-point victory on Dec. 6, 1978 in Pittsburg.
The Gorillas did earn the longest win streak in the series, winning 10 straight from Jan. 28, 1998 to Feb. 13, 2002. The streak ended when Missouri Southern earned a 69-65 win over Pitt State in the MIAA Tournament on Feb. 25, 2002.
The largest margin of victory by either team in the series was a 87-44 (43 points) win by Missouri Southern on Feb. 15, 2006. Pitt State’s biggest win was a 35-point (80-45) win on Feb. 16, 2000.
PSU vs. Emporia State
The series between Pitt State and Emporia State has been a very lopsided one, with Emporia leading the series 48-24, though Pitt State has won each of the last seven meetings, including a sweep of the Lady Hornets in each of the last two regular season series, a win in the NCAA South Central Regional final last year and a win just over a week ago in Emporia. Emporia State won five in a row before the Gorillas took a 71-66 victory in PIttsburg on Feb. 17, 2010.
Prior to the current streak, Pitt State had not won back to back games in the series since winning three straight from Feb. 8, 1995 to Jan. 18, 1997. Emporia also won 13 of the first 14 meetings between the two teams. The longest streak of wins in the series was nine games by ESU from Jan. 5, 1998 to Feb. 21, 2001. Pitt State’s longest streak of wins is the current streak.
Scores in the series have also been very lopsided toward ESU. The Hornets have won 17 games by 20 or more points, while Pitt State has only won one game by that margin, a 35-point win in Pittsburg on Jan. 7, 2002. The largest win in the series was an 85-point Emporia win on Dec. 11, 1975.
Up Next
Pitt State has a berth in the MIAA Tournament. This weekend’s game will determine whether the team will get a first round bye and begin play on Friday in Kansas City or if the team will host a first round game at John Lance Arena on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m..
MIAA Tournament Scenarios
Washburn and Central Missouri are the only two teams that have locked one of the top four spots in the league, giving them a ticket straight to Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals. Washburn just has to win one of its two games this week to win the regular season title.
In order for Pitt State to receive that first round bye, the Gorillas need to win both games and have Truman lose at least one. Truman will play Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri.
There are also many possibilities for tie scenarios, as the second through sixth place teams are within three games of each other, with most having two games to play, many of those games against other teams in the top six. There is actually one scenarios that has four teams ending with a 13-5 record and one with four ending 12-6. The only team with only one game remaining in that group is Northeastern State who will play Central Oklahoma mid-week. The Riverhawks are currently third in the league standings at 13-4.
Only 11 teams have secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament. The last spot will be filled by either Lincoln or Nebraska-Kearney. Lincoln can seal its spot by beating Lindenwood midweek.
The top four teams get byes and will go straight to Kansas City. Seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in first round games on campus sites. Pitt State is guaranteed to at least host a first round game if the team doesn’t play its way into the top four. The women’s first round game would be played on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
Roberts Hits 1,000
Pitt State senior Drew Roberts became the 16th player in Pittsburg State Women’s Basketball history to score 1,000 points in her career on Saturday, February 23. Roberts had 999 points leading into the match up with Central Oklahoma and hit a three with 18:34 to go in the first half to score her 1,000th point. finished the game with a season-high 15 points and now has 2,014 career points.
Pitt State in the MIAA
The Gorillas are tied for fifth overall in the MIAA standings, but the team and individuals also rank highly in several statistical categories.
Categories in which the team is ranked in the top five include: scoring offense (5th - 68.8 ppg), opponent scoring (5th - 59.2 ppg), scoring margin (5th - +9.6 ppg), field goal percentage (2nd - .441), opponent field goal percentage (3rd - .358), opponent 3-point fg pct. (2nd - .291), rebounding (t4th - 39.0), blocked shots (4th - 4.1 bpg), defensive rebounds (1st - 27.9 rpg).
Lizzy Jeronimus leads the league in points per game (18.3), is 11th in rebounding (6.5 rpg), 12th in field goal percentage (.498), t14th in assists (2.8 apg), 15th in free throw percentage (.769) and sixth in defensive rebounds (5.1 drpg). Lauren Brown is fifth in rebounding (8.1 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (.531) fourth in blocked shots (1.8 bpg), third in offensive rebound (3.2 orpg) and seventh in defensive rebounds (4.9 drpg). Morgan Westhoff is third in 3-point field goal percentage (.423) and 10th in threes made per game (1.8 3pg). Kylie Gafford is 12th in blocks (1.1 bpg).
In the Polls
For the fifth straight week, Pitt State is still receiving votes in the latest WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll.
Week 1: No. 3
Week 2: No. 3
Week 3: No. 11
Week 4: No. 18
Week 5: No.17
Week 6: No. 20
Week 7: No. 24
Week 8: No. 18
Week 9: receiving votes
Week 10: receiving votes
Week 11: receiving votes
Week 12: receiving votes
Week 13: receiving votes
Record Check
Both the Pitt State team and individuals are working their way into the recordbooks, or furthering their place in the career records already in this young season.
Most recently Lauren Brown set a new school record for most rebounds in a game with 22 against Northwest Missouri. The previous record was set by Darlene Champ versus Emporia State on Feb. 15, 1986 and tied by Jaimee Bohannon against Missouri Western on Feb. 2, 2000.
As a team, the Gorillas set the record for fewest turnovers in a game with only five against Quincy on Dec. 1. The 11-for-27 performance from three-point range at Lindenwood on Dec. 8 is the ninth-most threes made in a game. The .631 shooting percentage Pitt State opened the season with against Southwest Minnesota State is the 10th best in school history.
Jeronimus’ 16.9 ppg in her career (962 pts in 57 games) is the third-best career scoring average behind only Leslie Dudley and Sunny York. She also ranks fourth in career rebounding average with 6.7 rpg (382 rbds, 57 games).
Drew Roberts played in her 100th career game against Nebraska-Kearney. In that time she has made 180 threes in 507 attempts, both rank second in school history, though both first place records will be hard to attain as Jenni Miller holds the records with 364 threes in 975 attempts.
Lauren Brown has also played in 100 career games. She played her 100th game against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 9. She in second in career blocked shots with 133. Larissa Richards holds the record with 187. Brown and Richards are the only players in school history with 100 or more career blocked shots.
Alexa Bordewick recently moved onto the the top five career lists for threes made and attempted. She has attempted 373 threes in her three-year career which is third on the list behind Roberts (499)and just ahead of Bailey Waugh (353). She has made 126 threes which is just ahead of Leslie Dudley and Waugh (123).
Countdown to 1,000
Lizzy Jeronimus is at 962 points and needs just 38 more this season to reach the 1,000 point mark as a sophomore. Only 16 previous players have scored 1,000 points or more in their careers, including Drew Roberts who just scored her 1,000th point on Feb. 23 at Central Oklahoma. Jeronimus needs to score 19 points per game in the two games this week to get to 1,000 points by the end of the regular season. If Jeronimus scores her 1,000th point against Emporia State on Saturday, she will tie Leslie Dudley for the quickest to reach 1,000 career points in program history at 59 games.
