PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The No. 19 Pitt State women's basketball team will take its 10-game win streak on the road this week as it travel to Central Missouri on Wednesday (Feb. 17) and Southwest Baptist (Feb. 20). Wednesday night's tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while Saturday's game will start at 1:30 p.m.

Central Missouri is one of four teams to have a win over the Gorillas this season. Pitt State has beaten the other three teams (Fort Hays State, Emporia State and Missouri Western) that beat them the first time through the conference schedule. 
 

Scouting Central Missouri

Central Missouri records a 9-14 overall record and an 8-10 league record. The Jennies recently fell to a heartbreaker against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar this weekend, 65-68. The team will round out their last home games of the season hosting Pittsburg State tomorrow and Missouri Southern on Saturday.

    Senior guard Shelby Winkelmann, the team's offensive leader, scores 19.1 ppg, which is second best in the MIAA. She also shoots .480 from three-point and dishes out a team-high 3.6 apg. The Jennies are led defensively by Ashley Jones, whom ranks second in the league in rebounds (8.9 rpg), and has 14 blocks on the season. The senior forward also averages 12.3 ppg, while shooting .574 from the field. Additionally, Tayler Welks and Ashley Duffy each score just above 8 ppg.

    As a team, Central Missouri shoots .420 (573-1363) from the field, .321 (134-418) from long range, and .729 (261-358) from the charity stripe. The team also averages 67.0 ppg, 34.1 rpg, 13.4 apg, 8.7 spg and 1.7 bpg.

Scouting Southwest Baptist

Southwest Baptist is 13-11 overall and 8-10 in the MIAA. The Bearcats broke a three-game losing streak this weekend when Central Missouri came to town, edging out the Jennies, 68-65. The team saw losses from Nebraska-Kearney, No. 7 Fort Hays State and No. 21 Emporia State.

    Three Bearcats are scoring in double digits: sophomore guard. Megan Rosenbohm is leading with 11.8 ppg and has 32 steals on the season. Caylee Richardson isn't far behind with 11.6 ppg and shoots .616 (69-112) from the field. The freshman forwards is also the team's leading rebounder with 8.0 boards per game. Senior guard Dilonna Johnson scores 10.9 ppg and dishes out 3.9 apg.

    Southwest Baptist is shooting .423 (410-970) from the field, .302 (80-265) from behind the arc, and .763 (254-333) from the foul line. The team is also averaging 72.1 points, 37.6 rebounds, 13.6 assists,  8.4 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game.

Scouting Pittsburg State

The Gorillas are 21-4 overall and 15-4 in MIAA play and have won each of their last ten games, including upset wins over No. 16 Emporia State last Saturday and No. 5 Fort Hays State on Thursday. The Gorillas ring in at No. 19 this week in the WBCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. Pitt State is currently third 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 75.8 points per game, while allowing opponents 63.7 ppg. The Gorillas shoot .435 from the floor overall and .363 from long range, hitting 7.7 threes per game. The team pulls down 36.0 rebounds per game, 2.9 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 18.3 ppg. She is the team's top three-point shooter, having made 77-of-183 threes on the season for a .426 three-point shooting percentage. She hits 3.3 threes a game. She also leads the team in steals with 29. 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 13.3 ppg. She was named MIAA Player of the Week after averaging 21 points per game on the road against Lindenwood and Lincoln. Kylie Gafford adds 13.2 ppg to the PSU cause and is the team's leading rebounder with 5.6 rpg. She also leads the team with 44 blocks on the season. Gaffod was named this week's MIAA Player of the Week after averaging 19.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg in the team's two wins over No. 5 Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney. She was also 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 109 assists for 4.5 assists per game. She has only turned the ball over 31 times on the season. Her 4.0 assists/turnover ratio is tops in the nation. She scores 7.1 ppg. Herlocker makes 38 percent of her shots from three-point range. Paige Lungwitz adds 6.5 ppg. Shelby Lopez and Paige Imhoff come off the bench to each contribute 4.5 and 4.1 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 tPSU vs. Central Missouri

entral Missouri leads the series between the two teams, 27-22. Each team leads on its home court, with Pitt State holding an 14-8 advantage in Pittsburg and UCM leading 19-6 in Warrensburg. Neutral meetings are tied at one game a piece.

    For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the two teams did not split the regular season series in 2011-12. Pitt State won all three meetings between the two teams, including a win in the NCAA Regional Tournament in Topeka. That is the longest streak of wins by the Gorillas.

    The largest margin of victory by either team was a 25-point UCM win (78-53) on Jan. 3, 2000 in Pittsburg. The largest PSU win was 17 points, three different times, Jan. 12, 1998 (70-53), Jan. 13, 1999 (71- 54) and Jan. 23, 1999 (65-48).

    Central Missouri had a streak of five consecutive wins two times, from Jan. 3, 2000 to Feb. 28, 2001 and Dec. 30, 2004 to Dec. 9, 2006.

    Since the 11-12 season, the two teams have met only once a year. Central Missouri won in both 12-13 and 13-14, but Pitt State broke the streak with a 54-52 win in Warrenburg last season. Six of the last seven meetings have been decided by an average of four points.

PSU vs. Central Missouri

Central Missouri leads the series between the two teams, 28-22. Each team leads on its home court, with Pitt State holding a 14-9 advantage in Pittsburg and UCM leading 19-6 in Warrensburg. Neutral meetings are tied at one game a piece.

    For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the two teams did not split the regular season series in 2011-12. Pitt State won all three meetings between the two teams, including a win in the NCAA Regional Tournament in Topeka. That is the longest streak of wins by the Gorillas.

    The largest margin of victory by either team was a 25-point UCM win (78-53) on Jan. 3, 2000 in Pittsburg. The largest PSU win was 17 points, three different times, Jan. 12, 1998 (70-53), Jan. 13, 1999 (71- 54) and Jan. 23, 1999 (65-48).

    Central Missouri had a streak of five consecutive wins two times, from Jan. 3, 2000 to Feb. 28, 2001 and Dec. 30, 2004 to Dec. 9, 2006.

    Since the 11-12 season, the two teams have met only once a year. Central Missouri won in both 12-13 and 13-14, but Pitt State broke the streak with a 54-52 win in Warrenburg last season. Six of the last seven meetings have been decided by an average of four points.

PSU vs. Southwest Baptist

Pitt State and SBU met twice a year from the 1987-88 season until the 2012-13 season. The teams met once during the regular season last year, then again in the MIAA Tournament. Pitt State has a six-game lead in the series, 31-25. Each team leads in its home arena, the Gorillas lead 19-10 in Pittsburg, while the Bearcats lead 14-12 in Bolivar. The 2014 loss in the MIAA Tournament was the first neutral site meeting between the two teams

    Prior to the 2009-10 season SBU had won four straight over the Gorillas, the longest streak of wins by either team in the series. The series began with each team winning only on its own court. SBU gave up the first Gorilla victory in Bolivar on Feb. 4, 1992. Pitt State won 10 straight at home before falling, 86-75 on Valentine's Day of 1996. 

    The largest margin of victory in the series was a 37-point Pitt State win on Jan. 6, 1981, the very first meeting between the two teams. SBU's biggest win was a 82-52 win in Bolivar on Dec. 1, 1987, only the third meeting between the teams. Since then things have been more evenly matched, for the most part. The most points scored in the series was a 101-95 Bearcat win on Jan. 8, 2005 in Bolivar.

Gorillas in the MIAA

Pitt State is third in the MIAA Standings just behind Missouri Western and Fort Hays State and one game ahead of Emporia State. 

    The Gorillas are third in the MIAA in scoring offense and scoring margin. The team's .433 field goal percentage is also third. It makes 7.7 threes per game, which ranks second. Pitt State is second in free throw percentage with .779. The Gorillas have the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the league with a 1.22. They have the third-best turnover margin, only turning the ball over 11.4 times a game, while forcing opponents into 14.5 turnovers a game. The team is second in blocked shots with 4.20 blocks per game.

    Several individuals rank high in the league in several statistical categories as well. Burgess is third with 18.3 ppg, while Brugman ranks 13th and Gafford, 14th. Gafford ranks 12th for rebounds with her 5.6 rpg. Brugman is 22nd. Burgess is 11th for field goal percentage (.426). She is also fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.421) and first in threes per game (3.3). Brugman leads the league with her .886 free throw percentage. Burgess is third at .859. Gafford ranks 12th. Hadyn Herlocker is second in the MIAA with 4.5 assists per game. She leads the MIAA with her 3.5 assist/turnover ratio. Gafford's 44 blocks on the season are tops in 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 44 blocks on the season Gafford has 180 blocks for her career. She has passed Lauren Brown for second place and is eight from surpassing the record of 187 set by Larissa Richards from 2008-2012.

Burgess for THREE!

Sophomore Mikaela Burgess leads the Gorillas with 77 threes on the season, an average of over three threes made per game. Last season she was second on the team with 52 threes made, so she has already passed her freshman season total. She shoots .396 (126-326) from three for her career and is tied for fifth for career threes made. Her current three-point shooting percentage ranks fourth. She only needs to make one more to rank fourth for single season threes made.

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. With an even better performance this season, she is just over that for her career with 185 assists and only 71 turnovers for a 2.61 assist/turnover ratio. She has had five games this season with no turnovers and 13 with four or more assists. This season she is at 4.00 with 96 assists and only 24 turnovers, a statistic which leads Division II.

Closing in on 1000

The Pitt State seniors are both closing in on 1000 points for their careers. Cathy Brugman is just 39 points away, with 961 points for her career. With her 13.3 ppg, she will need three more games to reach 1000, which would be the first game of the MIAA Tournament. Gafford, is just 11 points ahead of Brugman with 972 career points. With 28 points to go and her 13.2 ppg average, Gafford should hit 1000 in about three games.