PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The Gorillas takes their longest conference road trip of the season this week, as they travel west to Nebraska-Kearney and No. 17 Fort Hays State. Thursday evening's game tips at 5:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. tip on Saturday in Hays.

Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
Nebraska-Kearney is 10-7 overall and 5-4 in league games. The team is currently on a four-game win streak, having earned wins over Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri, Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma. The team's last loss was to Central Missouri on Jan. 3
    The Lopers average 73.0 points per game, just slightly more than opponents 71.8 ppg. The team hits .429 of its shots overall and .370 from three-point range. It pulls down 40.5 rebounds per game, 4.5 rpg more than its opponents. The Lopers commit 17.8 turnovers per game.
    Nebraksa-Kearney has five players averaging double figures on the season. Amarah Williams leads the team with 16.6 ppg and 8.8 rpg. She is hitting .557 from the floor. Laramey Lewis is second in scoring and rebounding with 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She leads the team in steals with 35. She is second in assists with 63 and three-point shooting, having made 33-of-75 (.440) threes on the season. McKenzie Brown scores 13.3 points per game. She is the team's top three-point shooter, having made 34 in 13 games. Kelsey Fitzgerald adds 11.5 ppg. She leads the team in blocks with 25 on the year. Alexa Hogberg scores 10.5 points per game and leads the team in assists with 92.

Scouting Fort Hays State
No. 17 Fort Hays State just entered the top 25 this week, a well deserved recognition after having won each of its last 15 games. The team opened the season in the same tournament as the Gorillas, but lost their second game to then No. 10 Concordia-St.Paul, 68-70, the day after the Gorillas 66-59 win over the Golden Bears. Since that game, the Tigers have not lost. The closest of the team's nine conference wins was a 76-75 overtime win over Central Missouri.
      The Tigers are ouscoring their opponents by an average of just over 25 points a game, 79.6 to 54.5 ppg. The team makes 44 percent of its shots overall and 31 percent from three-point range. The team makes about 5.7 threes per game. FHSU outrebounds its opponents 43.1 rpg to 35.8 rpg. The team takes care of the ball well, committing only 11.3 turnovers per game.
    Kate Lehman leads the Tigers and the MIAA with 20.8 points per game. A prolific shot blocker, Lehman has 79 blocked shots on the season and averages a double-double as she also leads her team with 10.4 rebounds per game. She makes 63 percent (136-216) of her shots. Chelsea Mason also scores in double figures with 13.5 ppg. She is the team's leading three-point shooter, having made 41 threes in 17 games. Beth Bohuslavsky leads the team in assists with 69. Nikola Kacperska leads in steals with 36.

Scouting Pittsburg State
    The No. 4 Gorillas are through half of the season with a 16-2 record. The Gorillas' 16-2 record matches that of the 2011-12 team in their first 18 games. The 2011-12 team won 14 straight, lost, then adding one more win before the second loss of the season. That team finished 27-6 and earned a trip to the Elite Eight. This year's team will play 33 games before the regular season is over.
    The Gorillas have earned three wins over ranked teams already this season, Concordia-St. Paul in the first game of the season, Drury, right after Thanksgiving and Washburn last week. They also earned a win over Central Missouri, who was receiving votes, last week.
    Pitt State outscores its opponents by 19.0 ppg. The Gorillas scoring average dropped 77.8 ppg to 75.9 ppg after two low scoring games last week. Opponents are allowed only 56.9 ppg. The Gorillas hit 44.6 percent of their shots overall and 32.2 percent from three-point range. The team holds opponents with 36 percent shooting overall and 29.3 percent three-point shooting. The Gorillas outrebound opponents by only 3.9, 38.6 to 34.7. Pitt State has a 1.0 assist to turnover ratio with 12.4 assists and 12.2 turnovers per game.
    A big key to Pitt State's success this season is their depth and the ability for any player to step up on any given night. There is a lot of focus on the Gorillas' three-time All-American Lizzy Jeronimus. She currently leads the team with 19.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in assists with 45 (2.5 apg). She is the team's leading free throw shooter, having made 107-of-125 (.856) on the season. Jeronimus has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has scored 20 points or more in 10 games.
    Junior Kylie Gafford also scores in double figures with 11.9 points and adds 5.7 rebounds per game. She leads the team in blocks with 31 and steals with 23. Gafford has scored in double figures in all but two games this season        Cathy Brugman is just under double figures with 9.8 ppg. She adds 29 assists, 25 blocks and 10 steals on the season. She, Mikaela Burgess, Gafford and Jeronimus have each led the team in scoring in games this season. Gafford, Jeronimus, Burgess, Brugman, Elena Flott and Hailey Roderique have each led the team in rebounding. Burgess averages 7.6 points per game. Antqunita Reed gets 6.9 ppg. She has only played in eight games so far this season after missing all the first semester games due to injury.
    Burgess is the team's leading three-point shooter, coming of the bench to make 25-of-65 on the season. Morgan Westhoff is just behind her having made 22-of-58.
    Brigit Hesser is second on the team in assists with 32 and has a 1.2 assist to turnover ratio. Herlocker has had two different games this season where she has had six steals. She made her first start of the season against Washburn.         While Hailey Roderique and Paige Lungwitz have not scored a lot for the Gorillas, the make their presence felt on defense. Roderique has 16 steals on the season, while Lungwitz has 13, though much of their contributions aren't seen in a stat sheet.
    In addition to Burgess, Elena Flott is another young player that has stepped up and shown promise, playing behind Gafford. She is averaging 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds while only playing 11.1 minutes a game.

PSU vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Pitt State leads the series with Nebraska-Kearney 19-12. The Gorillas have won each of the last six games and nine of the last 10.        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 24-23, though Pitt State has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams and eight of the last 10. Pitt State leads the series 12-10 in PIttsburg, but the Tigers lead 13-10 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.

In the Polls
    The Gorillas drop to No. 4 in the WBCA Coaches Poll this week. The previous No. 2 ranking ties the higest ranking ever by a Pitt State squad. The Gorillas were also ranked No. 2 on January 2, 1995, the first poll of the 1994-95 season
    Pitt State appeared in the first regular season poll at No. 10. The team moved to No. 8 the next week, then No. 6. Pitt State has been No. 5 in each of the last two polls        The Gorillas opened the season ranked No. 24 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll.
    Four Pitt State opponents were ranked in the top 25 to start the season, No. 3 Drury, No. 7 Emporia State, No. 10 Concordia St. Paul and No. 20 Central Missouri. Three additional opponents were receiving votes, Wingate, Washburn and Truman State.
    Currently Emporia State is No. 2, Fort Hays State, 17, and Drury, 21. Washburn, Missouri Southern and Central Missouri are all receiving votes.

Up Next
The Gorillas have a strange schedule coming up next week, as they will play three conference games in four days, with two of those games on the road. Wednesday the team travels to Tahlequah, Okla. to take on Northeastern State. They will return home on Thursday for a game against Central Oklahoma. Saturday the team travels to take on Southwest Baptist. Wednesday's game will be at its normal 5:30 p.m. time. Thursday's game will tip at 7 p.m., as it will not be followed by a men's game. Saturday's game time is still to be determined.