PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Pitt State takes its longest road trip of the season this week as the team travels to Kearney, Neb. and Hays, Kan. for games against the Lopers and Tigers. Thursday, Pitt State takes on UNK at 5:30 p.m.. Saturday tip off against Fort Hays State is slated for 1:30 p.m.
 
Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
The Lopers are 8-13 overall and 4-10 in MIAA play. The team has gone 2-3 since its last meeting with the Gorillas, with one of the wins coming in a non-conference game against South Dakota Mines. Most recently, the Lopers earned a 61-53 win over Washburn in Topeka, Kan.
    The Lopers average 69.3 ppg, while allowing opponents 73.1 ppg. The team outrebounds its opponents by 2.5 rpg, 41.8 to 39.3. UNK shoots .390 from the floor overall, including .326 from three-point range. Opponents shoot at a slightly higher percentage overall, .410, but a lower percentage from long range, .304. The Lopers average almost 19 turnovers per game.
    Two players average double figures, with three more averaging seven points or more per game. Amarah Williams leads the team with 13.0 ppg, a .502 shooting percentage and 26 blocks. Shelby Zimmerman adds 12.4 ppg and leads the team with 7.9 rpg. Sydney Seberger scores 7.0 ppg. Laramey Lewis adds 9.6 ppg. She is second on the team in assists with 55, steals with 36 and threes with 25. Sarah Hix scores 8.2 ppg and is the leading three-point shooter with 26 threes and a .433 percentage from long range. NIcole Arp is the team's assists (96) and steals (42) leader.

Scouting Fort Hays State
Fort Hays State is 16-5 overall and 9-5 in league play. The team has gone 3-1 since its last meeting with the Gorillas. Their last game was a 80-77 loss at Emporia State. The team has yet to lose back-to-back games this season.
    Fort Hays State averages 79.9 ppg, while allowing opponents only 59.1 ppg. The team outrebounds its opponents by 8.1, 46.4 to 38.3. The team hits 42 percent of its shots from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range. The team commits only 13 turnovers a game. Defensively, the Tigers allow oppoents only a .357 shooting percentage, including .308 from long range. The team gets just under 10 steals a game and just over seven blocks a game.
    Kate Lehman leads the Tigers as she averages a double-double with 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She already has 106 blocked shots on the season for an average of just over five per game. She makes almost 59 percent of her shots. Chelsea Mason adds 13.0 ppg as the team's top three-point shooter. She has made 37 threes on the season and hits .325 from long range. Katelyn Edwards scores 12.4 ppg and is second on the team with 8.5 rpg and a .508 shooting percentage. She is one of three players with 50 or more assists on the season and leads the team with 34 steals. Beth Bohuslavsky leads the team in assists with 73.

Scouting Pittsburg State
    The Gorillas have now won six straight games, the longest win streak of the season. Five of those wins have come in the friendly confines of John Lance Arena. The team is currently third in the MIAA standings behind only Emporia State and Central Missouri who are tied for first. Each of the top three teams have secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament, though no one has yet secured a spot in Kansas City yet.
    The Gorillas have a tough road ahead to secure their spot in Kansas City as four of their last six games, each of the next four games, are on the road. This week is arguabley one of the toughest trips of the season for the Gorillas as they are gone from Wednesday to early Sunday morning for a Thursday game at Kearney and a Saturday game at Hays.
    Five of the six Gorilla losses were to teams either ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches Poll. The six losses have been by an average of less than nine points a game. The Gorillas are 10-1 in John Lance Arena and 5-3 on the road.
    The Gorillas outscore their opponents by 7.3 ppg, 72.9 to 65.6. With several strong rebounding games, the Gorillas have been able to stretch their rebounding margin from almost even to almost +2, 38.2 rpg to 36.6 rpg. Pitt State shoots .434 from the floor and .334 from three-point range. The team averages 13 turnovers a game.
    Lizzy Jeronimus continues to lead the Gorillas and rank among the best in the MIAA with 19.2 points per game. She was held to the lowest point total of her career against Central Oklahoma on Saturday with only seven points. It didn't matter though, as the Gorillas are coming together as a team better now than in any other part of the season.  Three more players stepped up to score in double figures.
    Jeronimus also leads the Gorillas with 6.9 rpg, 54 assists and 22 steals. She is second on the team with 21 blocked shots.
    Cathy Brugman has been on fire in conference play. After scoring in double figures in five of the last seven games, and nine points each in the other two, Brugman is now the team's second-leading scorer with 8.2 ppg. She posted a career-high 24 points against Central Oklahoma on Feb. 8. She is shooting a team-high .500 overall and .462 (24-for-52) from three-point range.
    Alexa Bordewick adds 7.3 ppg. She is one of two players on the team that have made 30 or more threes on the season. She is second on the team in assists with 38 and has almost a 1.7 assists/turnover ratio. Antqunita Reed also scores 7.3 ppg and has really gotten more comfortable on the court as of late. The athletic junior has scored in double figures off the bench in each of the last four games.
    Morgan Westhoff comes off the bench to add 6.0 ppg as the team's leading three-point shooter with 31 threes made this season. Alex Muff is the team's second leading rebounder with 4.4 rpg and leads the team in offensive rebounds on the season. Kylie Gafford is the top shot blocker with 34 blocks this season and shares second in steals with Y'Cedria Devers with 18 a piece. Point guard Brigit Hesser has been crucial off the bench for the Gorillas, especially with her passing as she has 34 assists on the season and a 1.6 assists/turnover ratio.
    
PSU vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Pitt State leads the series with Nebraska-Kearney 17-12. The two teams met twice a year every season from 1976-77 to 1988-89 as part of Central States Intercollegiate Conference play. The teams also met in two non-conference games in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The last meeting was Dec. 30, 1994 in Kearney. The Gorillas won, 80-67.
    The two teams resumed regular meetings last year when the Lopers joined the MIAA. PItt State won the first MIAA meeting between the two teams, 62-42 in Pittsburg on Jan. 3, 2013.
    The longest streak of wins in the series was six by Pittsburg State from Jan. 22, 1982 to Feb. 3, 1984. The longest streak of wins by the Lopers was five to start the series from Jan. 28, 1977 to Jan. 27, 1979.
    The largest margin of victory in the series is 32 points by the Gorillas in a 81-49 win on January 22, 1982 in Pittsburg. The largest win by the Lopers was in the first game of the series on Jan. 28, 1977, a 69-39 UNK win  in Kearney.
    There has been one overtime game in the series, which Pitt State won 79-73 on Feb. 16, 1985. The most points scored in the series was 100 by the Gorillas on Feb. 19, 1989.

PSU vs. Fort Hays State
Fort Hays leads the all-time series with Pitt State 23-21, though Pitt State has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams and eight of the last 10. Pitt State leads the series 12-10 in PIttsburg, but the Tigers lead 13-9 in Hays. The two teams have never met at a neutral site.
    The longest streak of wins in the series was seven by the Tigers in the first seven meetings between the two teams from Jan.11, 1975 to Jan. 26, 1979. Pitt State's streak of five victories from Jan. 16, 2010 when PSU beat FHSU 71-65 in Pittsburg until the 72-61 loss in Hays in 2012 was the longest streak for the Gorillas.
    The most points scored by either team in a game was 101 by Pitt State in a 101-94 win in Pittsburg on Feb. 1, 1986. The largest margin of victory in the series was 56 points by FHSU in the first meeting. PSU's largest margin of victory has been 22 points on Jan. 30, 1981.