KEARNEY, Neb. — After being held scoreless in the first half, Michaela Barry scored 20 points to help lead the University of Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball team to a 97-95 overtime win over No. 19 Pittsburg State University in the MIAA opener Thursday (Nov. 30).
 
The Lopers improved to 7-0 on the season (1-0 MIAA), while handing the defending MIAA champion Gorillas their first loss of the season (6-1, 0-1 MIAA).
 
UNK trailed Pitt State, 72-57, with 8:20 to play in the game before the Lopers used a 21-4 run to overtake the Gorillas.
 
Alyssa Frauendorfer scored a team-leading 28 points for UNK, while McKenzie Brown added 24 points for the Lopers. UNK shot 52.5 percent from the field in the contest and the Lopers made 28 of 31 free throws.
 
Mikaela Burgess led all scorers with 31 points to pace the Gorillas. She made five of 11 3-point attempts in the game, while the remainder of the Pitt State squad shot a collective 0-for-11 from long range.
 
Paige Imhoff added 19 points and five assists for the Gorillas, while Athena Alvarado added 15 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Pitt State will return to action Saturday (Dec. 2) at 2 p.m. (CST) with a road match-up against Fort Hays State University.