PITTSBURG – The Pitt State women's basketball team will take on its third Top 25 opponent in as many weeks as the No. 5 Fort Hays State Tigers come to Pittsburg for a Thursday (Feb. 11) Family Day match up. The week continues on Saturday when the Gorillas take on Nebraksa-Kearney.
Scouting Fort Hays State
No. 5 Fort Hays State travels to Pittsburg with a 20-2 overall record and a 14-2 conference record. Their last two victories came from the hands of Central Missouri (70-57) and Southwest Baptist (96-84). They rank second in the MIAA behind No. 9 Missouri Western, who is 15-2 in league play.
Four players balance out the Tiger offense: Chelsea Mason (12.9 ppg), Jill Faxon (12.6 ppg, .378 from three point), Beth Bohuslavsky (11.3 ppg, 3.2 apg) and Paige Lunsford (11.3 ppg). Faxon and Lungsford each pull down over five rebounds per game and Elle Stein adds 4.7 rpg. Nikola Kacperska steals 1.9 balls per game.
As a team, Fort Hays State shoots .381 (551-1447) from the field, .300 (146-486) from behind the arc, and .722 (312-432) from the foul line. Additionally, they average 70.9 ppg, 37.4 rpg, 12.1 apg, 11.3 spg, and 1.5 bpg.
Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
Nebraska-Kearney is 20-12 overall this season and 8-8 in the MIAA. The team defeated both Southwest Baptist (64-52) and Central Missouri (78-61) in Kearney last weekend. The Lopers will compete at Missouri Southern on Thursday before going head-to-head with Pittsburg State.
The offensive effort is headlined by senior guard Laramey Becker, who averages 16.4 ppg and is shooting .419 (49-117) from three point. She also pulls down 5.7 rpg. Sophomore guard McKenzie Brown scores roughly 10.4 ppg and junior guard Alexa Hogberg adds 9.1 ppg. Kennedy Sanders is 68-118 from the field this year (.576). with 7.9 ppg.
Nebraska-Kearney is collectively shooting .428 from the field, .354 from long range, and .735 from the foul line. They also average 69.4 points, 37.4 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.
Scouting Pittsburg State
The Gorillas are 19-4 overall and 13-4 in MIAA play and have won each of their last eight games, including upset wins over No. 6 Missouri Western last Wednesday and No. 16 Emporia State on Saturday. The Gorillas have made their first appearance in the WBCA Coaches Poll of the Year this week, ringing in at No. 23. Pitt State is currently tihrd in the MIAA standings behind Missouri Western and Fort Hays State. The top three teams, as well as Emporia State, Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern have all secured spots in the MIAA Tournament
PItt State averages 75.9 points per game, while allowing opponents 64.0 ppg. The Gorillas shoot .434 from the floor overall and .369 from long range, hitting 7.9 threes per game. The team pulls down 36.0 rebounds per game, 2.7 more per game than their opponents. The team commits only 11.4 turnovers per game and has a 1.2 assists to turnover ratio.
Mikaela Burgess continues to lead the Gorillas with 18.4 ppg. She is the team's top three-point shooter, having made 71-of-169 threes on the season for a .420 three-point shooting percentage. She hits 3.4 threes a game. She also leads the team in steals with 28. Burgess was named the MIAA player of the Week after averaging 28 ppg last week on the road against Washburn and Emporia State. Cathy Brugman is the team's second leading scorer with 13.8 ppg a. She was named MIAA Player of the Week after averaging 21 points per game on the road against Lindenwood and Lincoln. Kylie Gafford adds 12.7 ppg to the PSU cause and is the team's leading rebounder with 5.6 rpg. She also leads the team with 42 blocks on the season. She was named the week's MIAA Player of the Week after scoring 20.0 points per game against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.
Hadyn Herlocker leads the team with 96 assists for 4.4 assists per game. She has only turned the ball over 24 times on the season. Her 4.0 assists/turnover ratio is tops in the nation. She scores 7.1 ppg. Herlocker makes 41 percent of her shots from three-point range. Paige Lungwitz adds 5.9 ppg. Shelby Lopez and Paige Imhoff come off the bench to each contribute 4.8 and 4.3 ppg, respectively.
There is quite a difference in the team's play between wins and losses. In its wins, the Gorillas score 77.1 points. They commit only 10.9 turnovers per game in wins and outrebound opponents by 5.5 rpg. In losses, the Gorillas score only 67.5 ppg, are outrebounded by 4.2 and commit 16.0 turnovers per game. There is not a significant shooting percentage between wins and losses, proving that turnovers and rebounding are important keys for the Gorillas this season.
PSU vs. Fort Hays State
Fort Hays leads the all-time series with Pitt State 26-24, though Pitt State has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two teams. Pitt State leads the series 13-10 in Pittsburg, but the Tigers lead 15-10 in Hays. The two teams have never met at a neutral site.
The longest streak of wins in the series was seven by the Tigers in the first seven meetings between the two teams from Jan.11, 1975 to Jan. 26, 1979. Pitt State's streak of five victories from Jan. 16, 2010 when PSU beat FHSU 71-65 in Pittsburg until the 72-61 loss in Hays in 2012 was the longest streak for the Gorillas.
The most points scored by either team in a game was 101 by Pitt State in a 101-94 win in Pittsburg on Feb. 1, 1986. The largest margin of victory in the series was 56 points by FHSU in the first meeting. PSU's largest margin of victory has been 22 points on Jan. 30, 1981.
PSU vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Pitt State leads the series with Nebraska-Kearney 22-12. The Gorillas have won each of the last nine games and 13 of the last 14. The two teams met twice a year every season from 1976-77 to 1988-89 as part of Central States Intercollegiate Conference play. The teams also met in two non-conference games in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The last meeting was Dec. 30, 1994 in Kearney. The Gorillas won, 80-67.
The two teams resumed regular meetings in 2013 when the Lopers joined the MIAA. PItt State won the first MIAA meeting between the two teams, 62-42 in Pittsburg on Jan. 3, 2013.
The longest streak of wins in the series, prior to the current eight game win streak, was six by Pittsburg State from Jan. 22, 1982 to Feb. 3, 1984. The longest streak of wins by the Lopers was five to start the series from Jan. 28, 1977 to Jan. 27, 1979.
The largest margin of victory in the series is 32 points by the Gorillas in a 81-49 win on January 22, 1982 in Pittsburg. The largest win by the Lopers was in the first game of the series on Jan. 28, 1977, a 69-39 UNK win in Kearney.
There has been one overtime game in the series, which Pitt State won 79-73 on Feb. 16, 1985. The most points scored in the series was 100 by the Gorillas on Feb. 19, 1989.
Gorillas in the MIAA
Pitt State is third in the MIAA Standings just behind Missouri Western and Fort Hays State and half a game ahead of Emporia State.
The Gorillas are third in the MIAA in scoring offense and fourth in scoring margin. The team's .434 field goal percentage is fourth. It makes 7.9 threes per game, which ranks second. Pitt State is first in free throw percentage with .766. The Gorillas have the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the league with a 1.21. They have the third-best turnover margin, only turning the ball over 11.7 times a game, while forcing opponents into 14.8 turnovers a game. The team is second in blocked shots with 4.35 blocks per game.
Several individuals rank high in the league in several statistical categories as well. Burgess is third with 18.4 ppg, while Brugman ranks 11th and Gafford, 17th. Gafford ranks 13th for rebounds with her 5.6 rpg. Brugman is 22n. Burgess is 11th for field goal percentage (.427). She is also second in three-point field goal percentage (.420) and first in threes per game (3.4). Brugmanleads the league with her .881 free throw percentage. Burgess is fourth at .856. Gafford ranks 10th. Hadyn Herlocker is second in the MIAA with 4.4 assists per game. She leads the MIAA with her 4.0 assist/turnover ratio. Gafford's 42 blocks on the season are tops in the league.
