PITTSBURG – Opening weekend proved a great success for the Pitt State women's basketball team as the Gorillas capped the weekend with a 73-53 win over Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday (November 12) afternoon. 

Hadyn Herlocker led the Gorillas with 17 points, five assists and two steals in the game. She scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half. Elena Flott added 14 points and shared the team rebounding lead with Madison Northcutt with six a piece. Mikaela Burgess added 11 points, while also dishing out four assists. Athena Alvarado was just under double figures with eight points off the bench and led the team with two blocked shots.

The Gorillas shot 44 percent from the floor overall and 39 percent from three-point range. The tough Gorilla defense was able to hold the Golden Bears to a .375 shooting percentage, including only 16 percent from long-range. Concordia-St. Paul did not make its first three-point shot until the fourth quarter. 

The game was close in the first five minutes, but an 8-0 Pitt State run lasting just under four minutes gave Pitt State a 15-6 lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter. The Gorillas didn't get their first double-digit lead of the game until Burgess hit a three with 7:16 to go in the second quarter. The game never got closer than that again. 

Burgess nailed another three with 8:37 left in the third to put the Gorillas up 46-24, the first 20-point lead of the game. Paige Imhoff gave Pitt State its largest lead, 73-44, on a pull up jumper with 4:48 left in the game. That would be the last score for the Gorillas as younger players got some valuable playing time and Concordia went on a 9-0 run to end the game. 

Pitt State will stay at home next weekend as it will host Ferris State, Arkansas Fort Smith and Central Missouri in the Pitt State Classic on Friday and Saturday (November 18 & 19). The tournament opens with Arkansas Fort Smith and Central Missouri at 5:30 p.m., followed by Pitt State versus Ferris State at 7:30 p.m.