KEARNEY, Neb. -- Pitt State hit a season-high 10 three pointers and got 41 points from its bench en route to a 86-73 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday (Jan. 22).

Pitt State improves to 17-2 on the season and 7-1 in MIAA play. The team will travel to Hays, Kan. to take on No. 17 Fort Hays State, the only team that remains undefeated in the MIAA, on Saturday. Nebraska-Kearney falls to 10-8 overall and 5-5 in league play.

Lizzy Jeronimus led all scorers with 23 points. She added six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Morgan Westhoff led the Pitt State bench with 18 points as she made five threes on the night. Kylie Gafford scored 10 points and led the team with seven rebounds four steals and four blocked shots. Elena Flott and Paige Lungwitz each contributed seven off the bench.

Four of the Lopers five starters scored in double figures with Kelsey Fitzgerald leading the way with 21. McKenzie Brown added 16, Laramey Lewis, 13, and Alexa Hogberg, 10. The fifth starter, Amarah Williams, typicallyaverages a double-double, but was held to just eight points and five rebounds due to outsanding defense by Gafford and Flott down low.

There were four ties and eight lead changes in the first seven minutes of the game. Pitt State took the lead for good on a jumper by Gafford. A three by Flott stretched the lead to four. The Lopers answered and took the lead back to one again, but the Gorillas replied with an 11-0 run, capped by a Mikaela Burgess three for a 27-15 lead. Kearney was not able to get closer than seven the rest of the half and the Gorillas led 40-33 at the half.

The Lopers were able to cut Pitt State's lead to three, 43-40, with 17:12 to go in the game. A Cathy Brugman jumper and two threes from Westhoff took the lead back to double digits. UNK would cut the lead to four one more time, but again the Gorilla three-point shooting, this time by Westhoff and Hailey Roderique took the lead to double digits for good. Pitt State led by a high of 17 points, 79-62, off a Lungwitz three with 5:35 to go.