KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 MIAA Postseason Tournament by posting a 71-63 victory over Washburn University Thursday (Mar. 1).

The Gorillas, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will face No. 3 seed Fort Hays State University Saturday (Mar. 3) at Noon (CST) at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

The Records
The Gorillas enter the MIAA Tournament semifinals with a 23-6 overall record.  Pitt State finished the regular season in sole possession of second place in the conference standings with a 15-4 MIAA mark, after claiming the 2016-17 MIAA regular season title a year ago.

Fort Hays State is 24-5 overall on the season. The Tigers have reeled off five straight wins, including a 57-54 win over No. 6 seed Emporia State University in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals Thursday (Mar. 1). FHSU earned the tournament's No. 3 seed after posting a 14-5 MIAA record.

The winner of the Pitt State-FHSU match-up advances to the MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship Game Sunday (Mar. 4) at 1 p.m. (CST) to face the victor in the No. 9 versus No. 12 match-up between Lindenwood University and Missouri Western State University.

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 231-101 (.696) 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 24.4 wins during the past seven seasons (2012-18), compiling a 171-49 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).

Saturday's action will be Lord's 21st meeting vs. FHSU. He has a 13-7 record against the Tigers.

Series History
Pitt State and FHSU will meet for the 55th time in program history Saturday. The competitive series is tied 27-27. The Tigers posted a 75-70 victory over the Gorillas in the only meeting of the season on Dec. 2, 2017, at Hays, Kan.

Kacey Kennett (20) and Tatyana Legette (19) combined for 39 points for the Tigers in the match-up in December, while Pitt State's Mikaela Burgess led all scorers with 24 points.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas enter the MIAA Tournament semifinals averaging 73.4 points per game and shooting 44.0 percent from the field.

Pitt State has two players scoring in double figures on the season: senior guard Mikaela Burgess (15.9 ppg) and junior guard/forward Shelby Lopez (11.2 ppg).

Burgess is averaging a team-leading 15.9 points as well as 3.5 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 ninth 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 331 career 3-pointers to rank in 17th place. Burgess can climb as high as 14th place with three more treys.

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 1,850 career points and 331 career 3-point field goals.Burgess, who ranks as the fifth-highest leading active scorer in NCAA Division II this season, has averaged 14.6 points in 127 career games for the Gorillas. She has climbed into third place on Pitt State's career scoring list. Burgess also ranks second behind Jenni Miller (1994-97) for 3-point field goals. Miller ranks ninth all-time in Division II with 364).

Lopez is averaging 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She has knocked down 54 of 148 3-point field goal attempts on the season, converting 36.5 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 754 points (7.9 ppg) and made 157 3-point field goals in 95 career games for the Gorillas.

Additionally, Pitt State has four players averaging between 6.9 and 9.6points per game: senior guard Paige Imhoff (9.6 ppg), junior guard Brenlee McPherson (9.4 ppg), junior forward Madison Northcutt (8.9 ppg) and sophomore forward Athena Alvarado (6.9 ppg).

Imhoff has contributed 9.8 points and an MIAA-leading 6.0 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.
I
mhoff 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 set the Pitt State single-season assist record with nine helpers against Washburn in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals. She enters Saturday's action with 174 assists.

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 116 career games, averaging 3.9 points per game.

McPherson is averaging 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the field (96-221). 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 87 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 53.6 percent from the field and she leads the squad with 75 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 94 career games for the Gorillas.

Alvarado is scoring 6.9 points and grabbing 3.2 rebounds per game on the season. She also has blocked 32 shots, ranking eighth 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 (4.8 ppg), junior forward Elena Flott (3.0 ppg) and redshirt freshman guard Maya Williams (2.9 ppg) also have been key contributors for the Gorillas.

Maher scored a career-high 21 points against the Ichabods Thurday. She knocked down seven of nine 3-point field goal attempts in the game. For the season she has made 36 of 88 trifectas (.409).

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.