The Gorillas will finish out the fall semester with games at Lindenwood and Lincoln on December 8 at 5:30 p.m. in St. Charles and Decmeber 10 at 1:30 p.m. in Jefferson City, Mo. The No. 4 Gorillas will then have a week of finals before taking time off for Christmas break.

Ticket Specials

Pitt State Athletics is offering two holiday ticket packages this year. Until January 12, fans can purchase a package for all eight home games in January and February for $70 for reserved seats or $50 for general admission. Also a Winter Break special is available for the women's game vs. Emporia State on December 31 and the men's game on January 2 against Avila only. With this special, one adult admission gets two children's admissions free. Either of these packages can be purchased in person or by calling the PSU ticket office at (620) 235-4796.

Scouting Lindenwood

Lindenwood concluded preseason play with a 4-2 record. Its only two losses came at the hands of Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and McKendree. After the Lions' MIAA opener against the Gorillas on Thursday, they will host Missouri Southern at 1:30 on Saturday.

Kallie Bildner is Lindenwood's leading scorer and rebounder. She's averaging 14.8 points and tops the conference with 9.5 rebounds per game, including three 20-point performances and three double-doubles. Her .559 (33-59) field goal clip is also an MIAA best. Gabby Walker adds 11.2 ppg and CeCe Rapp adds 10.0, despite only playing in two games. Lindsay Medlen dishes out 3.5 assists per game and Charisse Williams has five total blocks this season.

The Lions outscore their opponents by seven points per game and are out-rebounding their opponents by 12.8 rpg. Additionally, they're converting 71 points, 43 rebounds, 13 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.

Scouting Lincoln

Lincoln wrapped up their pre-MIAA season on Monday and finished 1-5. Stephens College gave the Blue Tigers their only win of the season, 82-44, on Nov. 21 in Jefferson City. Prior to Saturday's game, the team will host Missouri Southern in their conference season debut.

Hunter Yoakum and Azaria Nave are Lincoln's offensive threats. The duo averages 19.7 and 19.3 points per game respectively, which puts them in the No. 2 and 3 spots in the MIAA in scoring. The two also collectively shoot .459 (89-180) from the paint. Erica Gibbons pitches in 10.0 ppg and ranks third in the MIAA with 2.2 blocks per game. Tyler Henderson-Brown grabs 7.5 rpg and is the team's leading rebounder. Nave also dishes out 3.8 apg.

The Blue Tigers are shooting .406 (146-360) from the paint, leaving opponents to just .358 (138-385). The team also records 66.2 points, 10.7 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.0 steals per game.

Scouting Pittsburg State

Pitt State has started the season 9-0 after hosting two home tournaments and traveling to Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving holiday. The team started the MIAA portion of the season last week with an overtime win over Nebraska-Kearney, 84-80, and No. 25 Fort Hays State, 70-58. The team has won its games by an average of almost 24 points per game, putting up 75.0 ppg, while holding opponents to just 51.2. The 61-point win over Rio-Piedras was the largest of the season. 

The Gorillas are shooting .432 from the floor overall and .379 from three-point range. The Gorillas make an average of 10.7 threes a game, but holding opponents to just 3.4 made threes a game. Pitt State is also outrebounding its opponents by 11.8 rpg. 

Mikaela Burgess leads the Gorillas with 17.4 ppg and was named the MIAA Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 21-27. She scored her 1,000th career point on December 1 against Nebraska-Kearney. She has hit 32 threes on the season, which leads the MIAA. 

Paige Lungwitz, is the team's second-leading scorer with 10.2 ppg. She was named the MIAA PLayer of the Week for the week of November 30-December 4 after putting up a career-high 27 against UNK. Elena Flott is the team's third-leading scorer with 9.4 ppg and the second-leading rebounder with 5.8 rebounds per game. She recorded the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 11 rebounds against UNK. 

Shelby Lopez comes off the bench to score 9.2 ppg and has made 22 threes, third most in the MIAA. Hadyn Herlocker chips in 7.4 ppg and leads the team with 6.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Her assists lead the MIAA, while her steals are third. Herlocker is also the team's third-leading recbounder with 4.9 rpg. Madison Northcutt is a force on the boards and leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game, while also scoring 7.0 ppg.  

PSU vs. Lindenwood

Pitt State is a 5-0 all-time against the Lions. The Gorillas have won all MIAA meetings between the two teams, three times in St. Charles and once in PIttsburg. The only other time the two teams met was Dec. 20, 1997. Pitt State won the game 84-52 in Pittsburg. 

The biggest Gorilla win in the series was a 32-point, 84-52, win in the first meeting on Dec. 20, 1997. The closest game was an 80-79 Pitt State win in St. Charles on Jan. 4, 2014. 

This year will be the first year the two teams will play each other twice in the season. 

PSU vs. Lincoln

Although LIncoln is a fairly new member of the MIAA, they are no strangers to the Gorillas, as the teams are former conference foes. Pitt State lost its first game ever to the Blue Tigers in the opening round of the 2012 MIAA Tournament, 83-77. Pitt State is 13-0 at home and 13-0 in Jefferson City, while holding a  2-1 record at neutral sites.

The largest margin of victory in the series was 53 points in a 78-35 win in Pittsburg on Dec. 12, 1998. Pittsburg has won games agaisnt Lincoln by at least 10 points in 24 of the 29 meetings.

Pitt State has won each of the last three meetings by an average of 15.3 ppg.

In the Polls

The Gorillas pushed their way into the top five at No. 4 with their 7-0 start to the season in the November 29 poll. The team is holding steady at No. 4 in the December 6 poll. Pitt State moved up three spots from its No. 7 spot in the Nov. 22 poll, the first regular season poll of the 2016-17 season. 

Pitt State opened the season ranked No. 12 in the WBCA Preseason Coaches Poll. This marked only the second time in school history the Gorillas have started the season ranked in the nation's top 25. The other time being a No. 3 ranking at the start of the 2012-13 season. The No. 3 ranking was the highest ever for the PSU Women's Basketball program.

Emporia State is the top team in the land. 

Up Next

The Gorillas will have one more game before the end of 2016. The No. 4 Gorillas will face off against the NO. 1 Emporia State Lady Hornets on New Years Eve at 1 p.m. in John Lance Arena. Two children can get in the game free with the purchase of an adult ticket. 

Records Check

Its time to start tracking some Gorillas in the record books. After only nine games, junior Mikaela Burgess is already moving up the all-time threes list. She just passed Drew Roberts to move into second with 188 career threes. Burgess is averaging 3.6 made threes a game this season and would need 176 threes through the rest of this season and next for the school record. Jenni Miller holds the career record with 364. 

Hadyn Herlocker finished last season second on the single season assists list with 156, almost double from her previous two seasons combined. Herlocker now  has 299 assists for her career, which is seventh on the all-time list. it will take a bit to move to sixth, as Lizzy Jeronimus is currently sixth with 325. Current assistant coach Amanda Davied is the career record holder with 553.

1000 and Climbing

Mikaela Burgess is not only climbing up the career-three-point list, but also now scored 1000 career points. She hit that career milestone on December 1 against Nebraska-Kearney as she hit a layup with 4:07 left in the third quarter. 

Burgess currently has 1029 points, 283 her freshman year, 589 last season and 157 so far this season. Her 589 points last season were third only to Lizzy Jeronimus and Leslie Dudley, the two top scorers (men or women) in Pitt State history. 

Burgess is the 20th player in school history to score 1000 or more points in her career. She is currently No. 18 on the all-time scoring list. She needs 6 points to move ti 17th, 13 to 16th and 17 to 15th.  

Program Milestones

Pitt State's 70-38 win over Mary was the 600th win in program history. The Gorillas now have a 608-479 (.559) all-time record. The Gorillas are 330-177 at home, 199-257 on the road and 71-42 at neutral sites. Head Coach Lane Lord is now just eight wins from his 200th win at Pitt State. 

In the MIAA Stats

Pitt State leads the MIAA in scoring defense, allowing opponents only 51.2 ppg. The Gorillas are also the top three-point shooting team, having made 96 threes on the season, 10.7 threes per game. The team also leads in rebounds wiith 395 boards on the season. Pitt State is also tops in three-point defense, holding opponents to a .215 (31-144) three-point shooting percentage.

Individually, Mikaela Burgess is the league's sixth leading scorer with 17.4 ppg. She leads the league with 32 threes made and 3.6 threes made a game. She is 11th in field goal percentage (.408) and 10th in three-point percentage (.405). Shelby Lopez is eighth in three-point percentage (.423) and sixth in threes per game with 2.4. Hadyn Herlocker leads the MIAA in assists per game w ith 6.0 and is second in assists/turnover ratio with 3.4 and third in steals with 2.7 steals per game. 

In the NCAA Stats

The Gorillas rank among the top 10 in the nation for scoring defense (seventh), three-point defense (eighth), threes attempted (seventh), threes made (second) and threes per game (fifth). The Gorillas are one of 13 undefeated teams in the country. Additionally, the team is among the top 15 in assists (13th), rebound margin (13th), rebounds (12th)and scoring margin (11th).

Herlocker is sixth in the nation with her 54 assists and 15th in assists her game. She also ranks 14th in assists/turnover ratio. She also ranks 19th in steals with 24. 

Burgess is third in the nation for threes attempted with 79, fourth for threes made with 32 and ninth for threes per game w ith 3.6. Burgess also ranks 11th among active career leaders with 188 threes made, is ninth for career threes per game with 2.47 and fourth for career three-point percentage w ith .400.