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PITTSBURG, Kan. -- After playing six of its last seven games on the road, the Gorillas finally return home to the friendly confines of John Lance Arena. The team will play five of its last seven regular season games at home.This week the Gorillas host No. 19 Truman on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Southwest Baptist on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Scouting Truman
Truman is 16-3 overall and 9-2 in league play. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 19 in the nation and are tied for second in the MIAA standings.
Truman has won each of its last four games over Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Fort Hays State and Southwest Baptist. The team’s two conference losses were to Missouri Western on Dec. 5 and Washburn on Jan. 16. The non-conference loss was to Vanguard.
Truman scores 71.7 points per game, while holding opponents to 56.0 ppg. The team hits .456 overall and .429 from three-point range. They are also outrebounding opponents 36.3 to 30.6.
Three players average double figures for the Bulldogs. Becka McHenry leads the team with 13.5 ppg. She is also the team’s leader in assists a (69) and is the second leading rebounder with 5.3 rpg. Allie Norton adds 10.8 ppg and is the team’s top three-point shooter with 48 threes made this season and a .457 three-point shooting percentage. Amy Briggs scores 10.1 ppg and is se cond on the team in assists (66) and three point shooting with 42 made threes and a .400 shooting percentage. Nicole Gloor scores just under 10 points per game at 9.5 ppg. Bianca Szafarowicz leads the team in rebounding with 5.4 rpg.
Scouting Southwest Baptist
The Bearcats are 9-10 overall and 4-7 in MIAA play. The team is tied for 10th in the league standings with Missouri Southern and Lincoln. Despite their record, the Bearcats have been playing decent of late, as they have won three of their last four games. Prior to that the team lost five consecutive.
SBU is scoring just 2.4 ppg more than its opponents, 64.9 to 62.5. The team shoots .421 overall and .338 from three-point range. It outrebounds its opponents 39.6 to 36.0.
Jacqui Zelenka leads the Bearcats in both points and rebounds as she averages a double-double on the season with 12.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Chasity Prince is the second leading scorer with 11.9 ppg and Brittney Dukes adds 10.7 ppg. Dukes leads the team in both assists and steals. Tanis Spani is the team’s top three-point shooter with 32 made threes on the season. Brook Duncan is not far behind her with 29 threes made.
Scouting Pittsburg State
The Gorillas are 12-7 overall and 6-5 in MIAA games. After not having lost back-to-back games in their first 16 games, the Gorillas are currently on a three-game losing streak with road losses at Northeastern State, Missouri Western and Washburn. Pitt State has played six of its last seven games on the road.
Pitt State is hitting 42.9 percent of its shots from the floor, while holding opponents to a 36.4 shooting percentage. The team is outscoring opponents by 9.0 points per game, 68.1 to 59.1. The Gorillas are also tough on the glass, outrebounding their foes 39.6 to 35.9. Pitt State shoots
.324 from three point range and .707 from the charity stripe.
Pitt State has only one player scoring in double figures, as Lizzy Jeronimus scores nearly 20 points per game at 18.7 ppg. Jeronimus also leads Pitt State in assists with 47 and is the second leading rebounder with 6.6 rpg. Morgan Westhoff comes off the bench to score 9.5 ppg as the Gorillas’ second leading scorer. Westhoff is the team’s top three-point shooter, as she has made 37 of 82 threes on the year for a .451 shooting percentage from long range. Lauren Brown leads the team in rebounds with 8.1 rpg after setting the school record with 22 rebounds against Northwest Missouri. Brown also leads the team in blocked shots with 33. Freshman Kylie Gafford is just behind her with 23 blocks on the year. Drew Roberts is now the team’s third-leading scorer with 7.2 points per game.
PSU vs. Truman
Pitt State leads the all-time series with Truman 27-11. The two teams have met regularly each season since 1990. The two teams started with home-and-home meetings each season in 1999. Pitt State leads 15-4 in Pittsburg and 13-7 in Kirksville. The two teams have never met at a neutral site.
Pitt State has had two long streaks of wins in the series. The Gorillas opened the series with eight straight wins from Jan. 14, 1990 to Feb. 10, 1996. The other long run for the Gorillas was seven wins from Jan. 18, 2003 to Jan. 14, 2006. The Bulldogs have only won back-to-back games twice in the series. The first time was on Feb. 15 and 23, 1999, with one win in each location. The second time was in 2007-08 as the Bulldogs took the game in Kirksville, 76-64, and in Pittsburg, 79-72.
The biggest win in the series was a 62-point victory (97-35) by the Gorillas in Pittsburg on Feb. 22, 1993. Truman’s biggest win was by 15 points in a 78-63 decision in Kirksville on Feb. 26, 2000.
The most points scored in the series was a 104-102 Pitt State win on Jan .28, 1995 in Kirksville.
PSU vs. Southwest Baptist
Pitt State and SBU have met twice a year since the 1987-88 season. Pitt State has a four-game lead in the series, 28-24, after sweeping the Bearcats each of the last two seasons. Each team leads in its home arena, the Gorillas lead 17-10 in Pittsburg, while the Bearcats lead 14-11 in Bolivar. The two teams have never met at a neutral site.
Prior to the 2009-10 season SBU had won four straight over the Gorillas, the longest streak of wins by either tem in the series. The series began with each team winning only on its own court. SBU gave up the first Gorilla victory in Bolivar on Feb. 4, 1992. Pitt State won 10 straight at home before falling, 86-75 on Valentine’s Day of 1996.
The largest margin of victory in the series was a 37-point Pitt State win on Jan. 6, 1981, the very first meeting between the two teams. SBU’s biggest win was a 82-52 win in Bolivar on Dec. 1, 1987, only the third meeting between the teams. Since then things have been more evenly matched, for the most part. The most points scored in the series was a 101-95 Bearcat win on Jan. 8, 2005 in Bolivar.
