HAYS, Kan. -- The 2014-15 Gorilla squad played the most game in school history, tied the record for most wins and finished as the second winningest team in school history. Though the ending was not what they wanted, the team and its five seniors have helped set a standard for women's basketball at Pittsburg State.
The season ended tonight (March 14) with a 65-54 overtime loss to Emporia State in the Central Region semifinal. The 11-point win for the Lady Hornets was not at all indicative of how close the game was from tip to the final buzzer. Each team scored 25 points each half. Pitt State shot .362 overall and .267 from three, while Emporia show .339 overall and .294 from three point range. Pitt State had only 10 turnovers, while the Lady Hornets had 12. The Gorillas played tough defense, blocking nine Emporia State shots and grabbing five steals. In the end, free throws made the biggest difference in the game, as Emporia State made 22-of-25, while the Gorillas made only 8-of-10. Pitt State also had some difficulty making shots late in the game.
Lizzy Jeronimus took the team on her shoulders in her final game as she led Pitt State with 20 points, including a 4-for-7 performance from three-point range, a new career high for threes made. She also had six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Fellow senior Hailey Roderique played her typical strong defense, but also added 10 points, three assists, a block and a steal. Junior Kylie Gafford also scored 10 points. She pulled down eight rebounds, while dishing out three assists and recording three blocks and two steals.
Pitt State led for 16 minutes in the first half, with their largest lead being six. The Gorillas scored the first four points of the game, and though Emporia State would get close, they could not pull ahead of the Gorillas until a 9-0 Emporia State, lasting just under 7 minutes gave them 25-23 lead. The Gorillas got the last shot of the half though as Roderique drove the lane from a layup with just under a minute remaining to tie the game at 25-25.
There were five ties and five lead changes in the second half. The early part of the second half the lead volleyed between the two teams, but Emporia State built up a five-point lead three different times, and as late as 13:12. The Gorillas began chipping away at that lead and a three by Jeronimus with 10:18 to go gave the Gorillas only their second lead of the half. A Jeronimus layup with 4:27 put Pitt State up 50-46, but that was the last shot the Gorillas would make. The Pitt State defense held Emporia State without a shot from 7:24 to 3:32 when a layup cut the lead to two. Kelsey Barnwell made two free throws with 47 seconds to go to tie the game. Roderique got a big steal with three seconds to go, but the Gorillas were not able to get a shot off, sending the game to overtime.
There were two more ties early in the overtime, but Emporia State scored its final nine points off free throws and Pitt State was 0-for-5 from the floor, resulting in the 65-54 win.
Pitt State finished the season 27-7 overall. The Gorillas graduate five seniors, Brigit Hesser, Lizy Jeronimus, Antqunita Reed, Hailey Roderique and Morgan Westhoff. The five won 94 career games with only 31 losses. They never lost more than 10 games in a season. They won four NCAA Tournament games, when no Pitt State team had ever won an NCAA Tournament game. They scored 4,110 points, grabbed 1,704 rebounds and dished out 653 assists. The team will return seven players that saw action this season, three redshirts and add four new signees.
