PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Pittsburg State has earned its second NCAA Tournament berth in three years. The Gorillas will travel to Searcy, Ark. to take on Wayne State College in the first round of the tournament. The two teams will face off at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14 at Harding University's Rhodes Field House. 

Pitt State In the NCAA Tournament

This will mark the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Pittsburg State women and the second under head coach Lane Lord. Pitt State has a 3-6 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games.

The last time the Gorillas were in the NCAA Tournament was the 2011-12 season. After a close, 74-70, opening round win over Central Missouri, the team won each of its next two games, with NortheasternState and Emporia State, by double digits to win the South Central Regional title and advance to the Elite Eight. Pitt State lost its NCAA Quarterfinal game to eventual national champion Shaw, 61-58.

Prior to the 2012 season, the Gorillas were 0-5 in their previous five trips and have lost those five NCAA Tournament games by an average of 11.2 points per game. Two years, 1992 and 1995, Pitt State hosted regional play in John Lance Arena.

Pitt State has face two different teams more than once in the NCAA Tournament. The Gorillas suffered two losses to Abilene Christian on 1995 and 1997. Pitt State is 1-1 against Central Missouri, with a 69-56 loss in 1998 and the win in 2012.

Scouting Wayne State

Wayne State is 27-4 on the season. The team finished 19-3 in the Northern Sun Conference and earned the top seed in the conference tournament. The team won a first round game over Bemidji State, 72-42, before falling to Sioux Falls, 75-69, in overtime.

The team opened the season with an 11-game win streak before falling to Concordia, also a Central Regional participant, 57-54, on December 14. After five more wins, the Wildcats suffered a one-point loss to Concordia. The team won eight more games before Minnesota-Moorhead took a 61-50 win away from Wayne on Feb. 15. The Wildcats are 11-2 at home, 14-1 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites. 

The Wildcats score 75.8 ppg, while allowing opponents only 57.4 ppg. The team only outrebounds its opponents by .2, 37.0 to 36.8. Wayne State shoots .463 from the floor overall and .386 from three-point range, while holding its opponents to .354 overall and .271 from long range. As a team, the Wildcats average 14.0 turnovers, 16.8 assists, 9.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. 

Three Wayne State players score in double figures, led by Jordan Spencer with 16.0 ppg. Millie Niggeling comes off the bench to add 11.6 pg and leads the team with a .521 shooting percentage. She is one of three players with 20 or more blocks on the season and leads with 24. Ashton Yossi scores 11.0 ppg and is the team's top three-point shooter with 62 threes made this season. Ellen Hansen is the team's top rebounder with 7.7 rpg. She is also the team's second-leading three-point shooter with 41 shots made from long range. Addy Roller leads the team in assists with 145 for 4.7 apg. She also leads the team in steals with 48, as one of four players with 40 or more steals on the season.

Scouting Pittsburg State

The Gorillas are 23-7 on the season. The team finished the MIAA season 16-3, earning them the third seed in the MIAA Tournament, where the team fell in quarterfinals to Southwest Baptist, 67-65. The Gorillas are currently 22nd in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. 

The team had a 12-game win streak before the loss to SBU, the second longest in school history.  Five of the seven Gorilla losses this season were to teams either ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches Poll. The seven losses have been by an average of less than nine points a game, and only one was by more than 10 points. The Gorillas are 12-1 in John Lance Arena and 9-3 on the road and 2-3 at netral sites.

The Gorillas outscore their opponents by 7.5 ppg, 71.8 to 64.3. Rebounding stays close between Pitt State and its opponents, 37.8 to 37.3, less than a +1 margin for the Gorillas. Pitt State shoots .429 from the floor and .327 from three-point range, while holding opponents to .388 overall and .300 from long range. The team averages just over 12 turnovers a game.

Lizzy Jeronimus continues to lead the Gorillas and ranks among the best in the MIAA with 18.6 points per game. Jeronimus also leads the Gorillas with 6.6 rpg, 77 assists and 25 steals. She is second on the team with 27 blocked shots. 

Cathy Brugman has been on fire in conference play. After scoring in double figures in each of the last nine games and 12 of the last 14, Brugman is now the team's second-leading scorer with 9.4 ppg. She posted a career-high 24 points against Central Oklahoma on Feb. 8 and added 22 points against Emporia State on Feb. 26. She is shooting a team-high .512 overall and .463 (38-for-82) from three-point range. All but one of her threes she has made in conference play. She is the team's top three-point shooter. Over the last 10 games, Brugman has averaged 14.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Antqunita Reed scores 8.6 ppg and has really gotten comfortable on the court as of late. The athletic junior has scored in double figures off the bench in 10 of the last 12 games. 12 of her 14  double figure scoring games came in league play. Over the last 10 games, she has averaged 12.7 ppg and shares the team lead in rebounding with Jeronimus with 5.6 rebounds per game.

Alexa Bordewick adds 6.8 ppg. She is one of three players on the team that have made 30 or more threes on the season with 36 threes made. She is second on the team in assists with 48 and has a 1.8 assists/turnover ratio. Morgan Westhoff comes off the bench to add 5.3 ppg with 34 threes made this season. Y'Cedria Devers adds 4.0 rebounds per game and leads the team in offensive rebounds with 58. The tenacious guard also has 20 steals on the season. Kylie Gafford is the top shot blocker with 46 blocks this season. She is second on the team with 24 steals. Point guard Brigit Hesser has been crucial off the bench for the Gorillas, especially with her passing, as she has 47 assists on the season and a 1.6 assists/turnover ratio.

PSU vs. Wayne State

Pitt State leads the all-time series with Wayne State, 18-8. The Gorillas are 9-4 in Pittsburg and in Wayne. The two teams met every year from 1977 to 1989 as part of the CSIC. but have not met since Feb. 24, 1989. Wayne State won the last meeting, 77-64, in Wayne.

Wayne State started the series with a streak of four wins. The Gorillas answered with 17 straight wins from Jan. 12, 1979 to Jan. 16, 1987. 

The largest win in the series was the fisrt game, a 48-point, 86-38 win for the Wildcats over the Gorillas on Jan. 15, 1977. Pitt State's largest win in the series was 37 points in a 77-40 win on Feb. 6, 1982. Game between the two teams have been decided by an average of 15 points. There have only been eight games decided by 10 points or less

There have been two overtime games in the series, with each team winning one. 

Up Next

The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of the Emporia State/Southwestern Oklahoma game at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the regional semi-final.

20 Win Seasons

Pitt State is now 23-7 on the season. Twenty-three wins is the second-most in school history, bested only by the 2012 Elite Eight team. This season's squad is the seventh in school history to record 20 or more wins in a season and the third in Coach Lord's seven seasons. The other team's to have 20 or more wins in a season were 2011-12, 2008-09, 1994-95, 1992-93, 1991-92 and 1981-82.

Taking Care of the Rock

One thing Pitt State has excelled at this season is taking care of the basketball. The team averages just over 12 turnovers a game, 12.3 tpg to be exact, which is the fourth lowest lowest in the nation. Concordia-St. Paul leads the nation with only 11.2 tpg. The Gorillas have had seven games this season with fewer than 10 turnovers, including a streak of three games against Fort Hays State, Missouri Southern and Northeastern State where the team committed fewer than 10 turnovers.

Pitt State's top two primary point guards, Alexa Bordewick and Brigit Hesser, lead the team in that charge with each having better than a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio.

Nationally Elite

We have long known Pitt State junior Lizzy Jeronimus was one of the top players in the MIAA ... and in school history. However, she also ranks among the nation's elite, both this season and for her career.

Her 18.6 ppg ranked 38th, her .460 field goal percentage ranks 108th and her free throw percentage is 57th. The 211 free throws she has made this season are the most of any Division II player.

Jeronimus' 1,579 career points are the 14th most among Division II's active players. All 13 players ranked above her are seniors, which means Jeronimus will start her senior season as the country's leading active career scorer. Her 17.5 ppg career scoring average is 12th. Her 81.1 free throw percentage is 20th, while field goals made (526) is 24. 

The most impressive stat is in free throws. Jeronimus ranks 6th in Division II for free throws made (498) and 24th among players in all NCAA divisions. She is ninth in free throw attempts (614) and 32nd in all divisions.

Cathy in Conference

As stated earlier, Cathy Brugman has really stepped up her play for the Gorillas in conference games. Not only does her scoring average jump from 9.4  ppg overall to 12.2 in conference games, but she also shoots a team-best .522 from the floor and 54 percent from three-point range. Thirty-five of the 36 threes she has made this season have been against conference opponents. Her three-point percentage is tops in the MIAA in conference games only with a .537 (36-67).

Brugman has scored in double figures in 12 of her last 14 games, including each of the last nine. The remaining two games she scored nine points. She led the Gorillas with a career-high 24 points against Central Oklahoma on Feb. 8 and added 22 more points in the win over Emporia State on Feb. 26.

Free Throw Queen

Against Missouri Southern, Lizzy Jeronimus set a new school record for free throws made in a season. Jeronimus has now made 211 free throws this season, besting the record set by Leslie Dudley in 2000, 182. Jeronimus is only 10 free throws from setting a new MIAA record for free throws made in a season. The current record is 220, set by Missouri Southern's Melissa Grider during the 1995-96 season. 

Jeronimus ranks third on the PSU list for career free-throws made with 498. She is 39 from second place. She makes just over seven free throws a game, so will not quite be on pace to get to second this season. Leslie Dudley holds the school and MIAA record for career free throws made with 563.

Jeronimus also now holds the record for free throws attempted in a season with 249. She is third on the career attempts list with 614. She is still far from the MIAA season attempts record, as Grider also holds that record with 292. Dudley holds both the school and MIAA career attempts records with 718. 

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 1,579 points, Jeronimus is the fifth leading all-time scorer, passing Kami Scrivner with 1,559 points. She needs six points to pass Kelly Krumsick and move into fourth place. Krumsick scored 1,584 points from 1980-83. Jeronimus will need 108 more points this season to move to third. With her current average of 18.6 points per game this season, the Gorillas would need to play six more games for Jeronimus to move to third. 

Jeronimus has scored in double figures in all but nine games in her career. She has scored 20 points or more in 15 of 30 games this season and in 36 career games.

Jeronimus has scored 559 points this season, which ranks second on the PSU top scoring list, just ahead of her 522 point total her freshman season. She just passed Shelly Chapman who scored 557 points in 1980. Leslie Dudley holds the single season scoring record with 597 points. Jeronimus needs just 39 more points to set a new record.

Westhoff & Bordewick for THREEEEEE

Junior Morgan Westhoff has hit 34 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 101 threes in her third year at Pitt State. 

Alexa Bordewick has also made 36 on the season, including several crucial threes in close games and six threes in the loss to Washburn on January 18. She has made 166 threes in her career, the third-most in school history. 

Another Milestone

Lizzy Jeronimus grabbed her 500th career rebound against Lincoln on Jan. 6. She is one of only six players in schoool history to grab more then 500 rebounds and score more than 1,000 points. She currently has 603 career rebounds which ties her for fourth on the all-time rebounding list. She needs 53 more to move to third. 

Jeronimus has surprassed her total rebounds from her sophomore season and needs just 12 more to reach the top 10 list for season rebounds. She needs 28 rebounds to match her total from her freshman year.

Jeronimus also has 246 career assists, the 10th best total in school history. She is only the second player in school history to be in the top 10 for points, rebounds and assists. The only other was Lisa Cropper who played from 1993-96. She finished her career with 1399 points, 538 rebounds and 500 assists. Jeronimus has already passed her in scoring and rebounding. Jeronimus needs three more assists to move to ninth and six to move to eighth.