PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will travel to Kansas City, Mo., open play in the 2018 MIAA Postseason Tournament Thursday (Mar. 1) at historic Municipal Auditorium.

The Gorillas, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will face No. 7 seed Washburn University Thursday at 2:15 p.m. The Ichabods advanced to the tournament quarterfinals with an 80-70 victory over No. 10 seed Southwest Baptist University Monday (Feb. 26) at Topeka, while Pitt State earned a bye into the quarterfinals with its top four seeding.

The Records
The Gorillas enter the MIAA Postseason Tournament with a 22-6 overall record and a 15-4 mark in MIAA play.  Pitt State finished the regular season in sole possession of second place in the conference standings, after claiming the 2016-17 MIAA regular season title a year ago.

Washburn is 20-9 overall on the season. The Ichabods posted an 11-8 record in MIAA play.

The winner of the Pitt State-Washburn match-up advanced to the MIAA Tournament semifinals Saturday (Mar. 3) at Noon to face the victor in the No. 3 versus No. 6 match-up between Fort Hays State University and Emporia State University.

The 2018 MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship game is set for 1 p.m. (CST) Sunday (Mar. 4).

Head Coach Lane Lord
Lane Lord is in his 11th year as head women's basketball coach at Pittsburg State University.

Lord has compiled a 230-101 (.695) record in his tenure at Pitt State, including five trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament and the program's first two Elite Eight appearances. He has led the Gorillas to four straight NCAA Tournament berths (2014-17) and his Pitt State program has averaged 24.3 wins during the past seven seasons (2012-18), compiling a 170-49 record.

Lord has been honored as the MIAA Coach of the Year five times (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017) and he has been selected the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year three times (2009, 2012, 2017).

Thursday's action will be Lord's 21st meeting vs. WU. He has a 9-11 record against the Ichabods.

Series History
Thursday's action will be the 86th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Ichabods. Washburn holds a 52-33 advantage in the series, but Pitt State has won seven straight match-ups against the Ichabods.

WU has won the only two meetings with the Gorillas in the MIAA Tournament: 71-58 on Mar. 4, 2004, and 83-64 on Mar. 7, 2009.

The Gorillas defeated the Ichabods in their only meeting this season, 77-59, on Jan. 20 in Pittsburg.

Mikaela Burgess scored a team-leading 28 points in the Gorillas victory over the Ichabods. Brenlee McPherson (12) and Paige imhoff(11) also scored in double figures for Pitt State.

The Gorillas have defeated the Ichabods by an average margin of 19 points, 74-55, during the current seven-game win streak.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas enter the MIAA Tournament averaging 73.5 points per game and shooting 44.1 percent from the field.

Pitt State has two players scoring in double figures on the season: senior guard Mikaela Burgess (15.8 ppg) and junior guard/forward Shelby Lopez (11.3 ppg).

Burgess is averaging a team-leading 15.8 points as well as 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.  She became a three-time first-team All-MIAA selection earlier this week when she was named to the 2017-18 All-MIAA team.

Burgess, who ranks 10th in the MIAA in scoring, scored a team-high 21 points in Pitt State's season opening win over Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 10 and she posted 31 points in the Gorillas' OT loss to Nebraska-Kearney Nov. 30.

Burgess was named the MIAA Player of the Week Feb. 12 after averaging 23.0 points in a pair of victories by the Gorillas.  She scored 26 points and hit seven 3-pointers against SBU on Feb. 10 to break into NCAA Division II's all-time top 25 list for career 3-point field goals. She now has 326 career 3-pointers to rank in 18th place.

Burgess averaged 16.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a junior in 2016-17, earning first-team All-MIAA and first-team All-America honors. The Webb City, Mo., native hit 86 3-pointers, leading the MIAA in 3-point field goals and ranking fourth in the conference in scoring.

She has compiled 1,829 career points and 326 career 3-point field goals.Burgess, who ranks as the fifth-highest leading active scorer in NCAA Division II this season, has averaged 14.5 points in 126 career games for the Gorillas. She has climb into third place on Pitt State's career scoring list (Jenni Miller, 1809 pts, 1994-97). Burgess also ranks second behind Miller for 3-point field goals (Miller ranks 9th all-time in Division II with 364).

Lopez is averaging 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She has knocked down 52 of 140 3-point field goal attempts on the season, converting 37.1 percent of her long-range shots.

Lopez contributed 9.2 points per game while earning honorable mention All-MIAA honors in 2016-17. The Wichita native hit 69 3-pointers, shooting a team-leading 38.1 percent from long range (69-181). She ranked third in the MIAA in 3-point field goals.

Lopez has scored 743 points (7.9 ppg) and made 155 3-point field goals in 94 career games for the Gorillas.

Additionally, Pitt State has four players averaging between 7.1 and 9.8 points per game: senior guard Paige Imhoff (9.8 ppg), junior guard Brenlee McPherson (9.7 ppg), junior forward Madison Northcutt (8.9 ppg) and sophomore forward Athena Alvarado (7.1 ppg).

Imhoff has contributed 9.8 points and an MIAA-leading 5.9 assists per game from the point guard position. She also has averaged 2.2 steals per game, ranking second in the MIAA in that category.

Imhoff was named to the third-team All-MIAA team earlier this week and she was also selected to the five-member MIAA All-Defensive Team.

Imhoff posted her first career double double with 15 points and 11 assists against Lindenwood on Jan. 13. She also dished out 11 assists against Minnesota State (Nov. 11) and she scored a career-high 19 points against Regis (Nov. 24).

Imhoff averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and dished out 38 assists last season. The Smithville, Mo., native has played in 115 career games, averaging 3.9 points per game.

McPherson is averaging 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field (95-214). She also leads the team in free throw percentage (.828, 53-64).

McPherson, a Carl Junction, Mo., native, shot 45.7 percent from the field last season, averaging 6.4 points per game. She averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while making her first two starts of the season Dec. 7-9. She has averaged 6.1 points in 86 career games for the Gorillas.

Northcutt, an honorable mention All-MIAA selection this year, is contributing 8.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, ranking third in the MIAA in rebounding. She is shooting 53.9 percent from the field and she leads the squad with 72 offensive rebounds (2.6 pg).

Northcutt averaged 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game a year ago. The Wichita, Kan., native shot a team-best 54.9 percent from the field, making 129 of 235 shots from the floor.

Northcutt ranked fifth in the MIAA in rebounding while earning honorable mention All-MIAA honors. She has averaged 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 93 career games for the Gorillas.

Alvarado is scoring 7.1 points and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game on the season. She also has blocked 32 shots, ranking seventh in the MIAA in blocked shots (1.1 bpg). She scored a career-high 20 points against Central Oklahoma (Jan. 25).

Alvarado, a Wichita, Kan., native, shot 57.9 percent from the field in her rookie campaign for the Gorillas, converting 81 of 140 shots and scoring 6.2 points per game. She also blocked a team-leading 29 shots on the year.

Sophomore guard Meghan Maher (4.2 ppg), redshirt freshman guard Maya Williams (3.0 ppg) and junior forward Elena Flott (3.1 ppg) also have been key contributors for the Gorillas.

Pitt State Probable Starters
    F    23    Brenlee McPherson, 5-11, Jr., Carl Junction, Mo.
    F    32    Madison Nortcutt, 5-11, Jr., Wichita, Kan.
    G    11    Shelby Lopez, 6-0, Jr., Wichita, Kan.
    G    14    Paige Imhoff, 5-10, Sr., Smithville, Mo.  
    G    15    Mikaela Burgess, 5-7, Sr., Webb City, Mo.