PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Pitt State will be in for some of its toughest battles thus far this season, as the team hosts Washburn and No. 3 Emporia State in John Lance Arena on Wednesday, December 16 and Saturday, December 19. The rivalries with these two Kansas teams have been responsible for some of the greatest games in program history and this year promises to be no different.

Scouting Washburn
Washburn travels to Pittsburg with a 6-3 overall record and a 2-1 conference record. The team defeated Southwest Baptist in their home MIAA opener on Dec. 12, 68-55.
    Junior guard Erika Lane leads the Ichabod offense with 12.0 ppg and is shooting .405 (15-37) from three point. Junior forward Erin Dohnalek's 9.8 ppg Junior center Felisha Gibbs adds 9.2 ppg and is also shooting .621 (41-66) from the field. Senior forward Jayna Smith grabs 8.3 rpg and dishes out 3.3 apg.
    The Ichabods are collectively shooting .419 (208-496) from the field, .322 (56-174) from distance, and .695 (91-131) from the foul line. The team also averages 6.26 ppg, 39.4 rpg, 15.1 apg, and 5.0 spg.

Scouting Emporia State
No. 3 Emporia State is 8-1 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA. No. 1 Fort Hays State handed the Hornets their first loss of the season, 70-71, in arguably the biggest match-up in MIAA play thus far.
    Three Hornets are scoring in double figures this season: Redshirt junior guard Kelly Moten (15.3 ppg), senior forward Sandra Ngoie (12.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and senior guard Kelsey Barnwell (11.7 ppg). In addition, sophomore guards Addie Lackey and Jacee Kramer average 8.9 and 8.4 ppg, respectively. Barnwell also has the highest three-point field goal percentage in the conference, shooting 20-45 (.444) from behind the arc. Redshirt junior forward Kathryn Flott (9.7 rpg) is a heavy contributor defensively.
    As a team, Emporia State is shooting .424 (247-582) from the field, .335 (73-218) from long range, and .764 (139-182) from the foul line. The team also averages 78.4 points, 47.8 rebounds, 14.8 assists, and 7.3 steals per game.

Scouting Pittsburg State
Pitt State opened the season with six straight wins before suffering their first loss at the hands of Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo. on Thursday (December 10), 75-83. The Gorillas have won two games since, over Northwest Missouri and Northwestern Oklahoma on Sunday and Moinday.
    Other than the loss to Missouri Western, each of the Gorillas games have been decided by double digits. Pitt State scoutscores its opponents by an average of 20.0 ppg, 78.1 to 58.1. The Gorillas also have a +7.7 rebounding margin on the season. The Gorillas hit 42.7 percent of their shots, including .332 from three-point range. Pitt State's defense is able to hold opponents to just .363 overall and .281 long range. The Gorillas average only 11.4 turnovers a game, and agaisnt Northwestern Oklahoma, set a new school record for fewest turnovers in a game with only four. The team has a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio.
    Three different players averaged double figures over the first nine games. Mikaela Burgess leads the team with 16.0 ppg, including a career-high 23 against Regis on November 20. Kylie Gafford scored 23 in the first outing of the season and averages 12.3 ppg on the season. She recorded the team's first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Northeastern State and has now added two more double-doubles in back-to-back games against Northwest Missouri and Northwestern Oklahoma. Cathy Brugman came alive to hit six threes and score 22 against St. Cloud State on November 21. She averages 14.0 ppg and collected a couble-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds against Central Oklahoma and another against Missouri Western. She was just a rebound shy of her third against Northwestern Oklahoma
    Paige Imhoff stepped up to fill in for an injured Hadyn Herlocker on Saturday, December 5 against Central Oklahoma. She came off the bench to score 18 points, pull down six rebounds and dish out five assists. She averages 5.1 ppg and leads the team with 34 assists and 12 steals. Shelby Lopez also got called to start against Northwestern Oklahoma in the stead of an injured Paige Lungwitz. She scored 19 points as the Gorillas leading scoerer. She averages 5.8 ppg.
    Gafford leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game. Brugman is just behind her with 6.4 rpg. Herlocker continues her career trend of taking care of the ball. In the first two games she dished out eight assists, but committed only one turnover, and now has 29 assists with nine turnovers.
    Burgess leads the team with 27 threes made on the season. She is one of three players that have made 10 or more threes in the first nine games. Brugman has made 11 and Lopez, 10. Lungwitz is the top free throw shooter. She has gone to the line 26 times and made 23 of her shots. Gafford is 35-for-41 from the charity stripe.

PSU vs. Washburn
Washburn has a decisive 50-28 lead in the all-time series against the Gorillas. Pitt State broke a 16-game losing streak to the Lady Blues with a 94-87 win on Jan. 21, 2009. The Gorillas added another win in the 2009-10, with a 58-57 overtime win in Pittsburg on Jan. 13. Washburn had won seven consecutive games over the Gorillas, with all but one being by double figures, until a 62-49 Gorilla win in PIttsburg to end the 2014 regular season. The Gorillas won both meetings last season to take their winning streak to three games.         Prior to the 2009 win Pitt State had not won a game against Washburn since a 69-57 win on Feb. 10, 2001 in Topeka.         
    Washburn leads the series 21-16 in Pittsburg, 26-12 in Topeka and 2-0 at neutral sites. The longest streak of wins in the series is Washburn's 16-game streak from Feb. 23, 2002 to Jan. 14, 2009. Pitt State longest win streak was eight games from Jan. 8, 1997 to Jan. 15, 2000.
    The biggest margin of victory in the series was 65 points in a Washburn 101-36 win in the very first meeting on Jan .18, 1975. Pitt State's biggest win was 20 points on Jan. 28, 1978 in a 72-52 victory in Topeka.

PSU vs. Emporia State
The series between Pitt State and Emporia State has been a very lopsided one, with Emporia leading the series 54-25. Emporia State won all four meetings between the two teams last season, as the two teams not only faced off twice in regular season play, but also once in the MIAA Tournament, and once in the NCAA-II Regional Semifinals Prior to last season, Pitt State had won eight of 10 meetings, including a win in the NCAA South Central Regional final in 2012.            Emporia State won five in a row before the Gorillas took a 71-66 victory in PIttsburg on Feb. 17, 2010.
        Prior the Gorillas seven-game win streak from Feb. 17, 2010 to Feb. 20, 2013, Pitt State had not won back to back games in the series since winning three straight from Feb. 8, 1995 to Jan. 18, 1997. Emporia also won 13 of the first 14 meetings between the two teams. The longest streak of wins in the series was nine games by ESU from Jan. 5, 1998 to Feb. 21, 2001. Pitt State's longest streak of wins was the seven game streak from Feb. 17, 2010 to Feb. 20, 2013.
        Scores in the series have also been very lopsided toward ESU, though nine of the last 10 games have been decided by less than 10 points., including both of last year's regular season games The Hornets have won 17 games by 20 or more points, while Pitt State has only won one game by that margin, a 35-point win in Pittsburg on Jan. 7, 2002. The largest win in the series was an 85-point Emporia win on Dec. 11, 1975.

Gorillas in the MIAA
The Gorillas are third in the MIAA in both scoring offense and scoring defense, as well as scoring margin. The team is second in the league with a 1.36 assist/turnover ratio.
    Several individuals rank high in the league in several statistical categories as well. Burgess is 6th with 16.0 ppg, while Brugman ranks 10th and Gafford, 17th. Gafford's 7.0 ppg put her ninth, and Brugman is 12th. Two Gorillas rank in the top 10 for shooting percentage. Brugman is 7th (.439), while burgess is 10th (.422). Burgess is also fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.370) and second in threes per game (3.0). Paige Lungwitz is fourth in free throw percentage, while Gafford in seventh. Paige Imhoff is fifth in assists, while Herlocker is eighth. Herlocker is second with her 3.2 assist/turnover ratio. Gafford 15 blocks on the season lead the league.  

She's Having a Block Party
Senior Kylie Gafford has been a significant presence down low for the Gorillas in her first three seasons. Her number of blocks has increased each season and with her team-leading 15 blocks over the first nine games, Gafford has 151 blocks for her career. Shehas passed Lauren Brown for second place and is 37 from surpassing the record of 187 set by Larissa Richards from 2008-2012.

Taking Care of the Rock
Junior point guard Hadyn Herlocker may not have seen a ton of court time prior to earning her starting spot this season, but the minutes she has played has made a significant impact, as she has done a superb job of taking care of the ball. Last season she dished out 65 assists with only 30 turnovers for a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio. She is just short of that for her career with 118 assists and only 56 turnovers for a 2,11 assist/turnover ratio. In the two games against Northwest Missouri and Northwestern  Oklahoma, she dished out 11 assists with no turnovers. This season she is at 3.2with 29 assists and only nine turnovers.

Burgess for THREE!
Sophomore Mikaela Burgess leads the Gorillas with 27 threes on the season, an average of three threes made per game. Last season she was second on the team with 52 threes made. She shoots .369 from three for her career and is on pace to find her way into the record books for threes made this season.

In the Polls
The USA Today/WBCA Preseason Coaches Poll was released on November 3. Despite their regional appearance last season, the Gorillas are neither ranked nor receiving votes. Several Gorillas opponents are in the poll though, led by top-ranked Emporia State. Fort Hays State rang in at No. 10. Fellow MIAA teams Missouri Western and Central Missouri were both receiving votes.
    Fort Hays State and Emporia State stayed at No. 1 and 3 in the country, respectively. With their 9-0 start, Missouri Western moved up a spot to No. 16. Pittsburg State is receiving 17 votes in the poll, making its first appearance of the season.

Up Next
The holidays bring a small break for the Gorillas. The team will return to John Lance Arena for one more game before the New Year, on Dec. 30 against University of St. Mary. The Gorillas will open the New Year with a long cenference road trip at Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.