PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of MIAA road games this week. The Gorillas will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., Wednesday (Jan. 15) to face the University of Central Missouri at 5:30 p.m. (CST) at the Multipurpose Building. Pitt State then will head to Jefferson City, Mo., Saturday (Jan. 18) to battle Lincoln University at 1 p.m. at Jason Gym.

The Pitt State action can be heard on ESPN 100.7 FM radio, online at espn1007.com/go or through the ESPN 100.7 or KSHQ app for phones or mobile devices.

The Records
Pitt State is 8-6 overall and 4-2 in MIAA action on the season. The Gorillas split a pair of home games last week, claiming an 81-69 victory against Newman University Thursday (Jan. 9) before falling, 88-86, in a hard fought battle to the University of Central Oklahoma Saturday (Jan. 11).

Central Missouri is 11-3 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA. The Jennies have won eight straight games after a 3-3 start to the year. UCM beat Lincoln, 82-60, in its last action Saturday (Jan. 11)

Lincoln is 3-11 overall and 0-5 in MIAA play heading into a Thursday (Jan. 16) match-up against Missouri Southern State University. The Blue Tigers are seeking to halt a five-game losing streak.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
Amanda Davied is in her second year as head coach at Pittsburg State after being hired to the position on May 21, 2018. She has a 29-15 (.659) record leading her alma mater.

Davied guided her alma mater to a berth in the 2018-19 NCAA Division II National Tournament in her debut season, becoming the first Pitt State head coach in program history to enjoy a 20-win season in year one of their tenure.

Davied, who served the previous 14 seasons as the assistant coach for her alma mater, replaced her former mentor, Lane Lord, who accepted the head coach position at NCAA Division I member University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

As the Gorillas top assistant the previous 14 years, Davied served as the team's recruiting coordinator and was highly involved in all aspects of the administration of the women's basketball program.

During her tenure on the Pitt State staff (2004-present), the Gorillas have compiled a 312-175 overall record (.641), capturing an MIAA regular season title in 2017 and making six trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) including a pair of Elite Eight appearances (2012, 2016).

Davied began her coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Gorilla women's basketball program in the 2003-04 season, after completing a decorated playing career for Pitt State the previous season. She was hired as a full-time assistant in July 2004 by former head coach Steve High and remained to serve as the top assistant on Lord's staff when he took over the program in April 2007.

Series History
Wednesday's match-up will be the 58th meeting between the Gorillas and the Jennies. UCM holds a 31-26 advantage in the series. The Jennies are 20-9 against Pitt State at Warrensburg, Mo., but the Gorillas have won on the road against UCM in five of the last seven meetings at the Multipurpose Building.

On Saturday, Pitt State and LU will meet for the 36th time in program history. The Gorillas own a decided 33-2 advantage in the series including a perfect 16-0 record against the Blue Tigers at Jefferson City, Mo.

Pitt State's Last Action
Kaylee DaMitz flirted with a triple double and Pitt State rolled to an 81-69 victory over Newman on Jan. 9 at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

DaMitz scored a team-leading 15 points, dished out a game high 11 assists and grabbed eight rebounds to lead a balanced Pitt State offensive attack. Tristan Gegg added 14 points and Meghan Maher finished with 12. Sydnee Crain and Ashton McCorry added 10 points apiece for the Gorillas.

Pitt State shot 52.5 percent from the field making 32 of 61 shots. The Gorillas made 11 3-pointers in the contest and owned a 37-26 advantage in the rebounding department.

Pitt State battled back from a 14-point third quarter deficit but came up just short in the end in an 88-86 home loss to Central Oklahoma on Jan. 11.

Gegg scored a game high 26 points to lead the Gorillas while Athena Alvarado added 23 points and a game high 11 rebounds while DaMitz also posted a double double with 14 points and 12 assists. Maya Williams also scored in double figures with 14 points.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State has four players averaging in double figures on the young season: sophomore guard Tristan Gegg (18.1 ppg), senior forward Athena Alvarado (16.1 ppg), junior guard Maya Williams (13.1 ppg) and and sophomore guard Kaylee DaMitz (13.1 ppg).

Gegg scored a career high 28 points on back-to-back nights against OBU and SWOSU to open the season.  The Altamont, Kan., native is shooting 44.2 percent from the field on the season (92-208) including 36.2 percent from 3-point range (38-105). She also is averaging 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game to date.

Gegg leads the MIAA in scoring and she ranks fourth in the MIAA in 3-point field goals (2.7 pg).

Gegg averaged 8.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game during her freshman campaign in 2018-19. She knocked down 40 of 107 3-point field goal attempts on the year (.374).

Gegg has scored 494 points in 44 career games for the Gorillas (11.2 ppg).

Alvarado is averaging 16.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 0.9 shots per game to date. For the season, Alvarado is shooting 60.6 percent from the field (97-160).

She leads in the MIAA in field goal percentage, ranks fifth in the league in rebounding and sixth in the conference in scoring and blocked shots.

Alvarado was named the MIAA Player of the Week  on Nov. 12 for her efforts in the Gorillas' season opening action when she averaged 19.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game in Pitt State's first two games of the year.

The Wichita, Kan., native enjoyed a monster season debut with career highs of 31 points and 20 rebounds in the Gorillas' 96-78 win over Oklahoma Baptist.

She battled foul trouble in the Gorillas' last second loss to No. 20 SWOSU. Alvarado scored the go-ahead basket with 4.4 seconds remaining in the contest only to see the Lady Bulldogs win the game on a pair of free throws two seconds later. She finished the game with eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Alvarado contributed 10.6 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game last year, earning honorable mention All-MIAA honors. She shot a team-leading 56.3 percent from the field a year ago, making 129 of 229 attempts. Alvarado also paced the team with 60 offensive rebounds and she blocked 40 shots on the season.

Alvarado has scored 916 points (8.9 ppg), grabbed 495 rebounds (4.8 rpg) and posted 115 blocked shots (1.1 bpg) in 103 career games for the Gorillas. Her 115 blocked shots rank fourth in school history.

Williams is averaging 13.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to date. The Carthage, Mo., native is shooting 51.7 percent from the field (61-118). She ranks sixth in the MIAA in rebounding.

Williams was named the MIAA Co-Player of the Week  on Dec. 10 after averaging 14.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game in a pair of wins vs. MSSU and WU. She scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against the Ichabods.

She also posted back-to-back double doubles against Lindenwood and Central Christian College, including a 20-point, 11-rebound effort vs. CCC.

Williams averaged a team-leading 11.9 points as well as 6.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2018-19. She earned third-team All-MIAA honors last year.

Williams shot 43.0 percent from the field (119-277) and made 21 3-point field goals on the year. She also shot 76.0 percent from the free throw line, making 98 of 129 charity shots.

Williams has scored 608 points (8.6 ppg) and grabbed 322 rebounds (4.5 rpg) in 71 career games for the Gorillas.

DaMitz is contributing 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. The Skyline, Mo., native leads the MIAA in assists and ranks fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (51-60, .850). She scored a career high 33 points vs. UNK on Jan. 4 and bosted back-to-back double doubles vs. NU (15 pts., 11 ast., Jan. 9) and vs. UCO (14 pts., 12 ast., Jan. 11).

DaMitz earned MIAA Freshman of the Year honors in her rookie campaign for the Gorillas last year. The Skyline, Mo., native averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while also earning honorable mention All-MIAA recognition. She ranked second in the MIAA in assists last year.

DaMitz has scored 450 points (10.2 ppg) and dished out 217 assists (4.9 apg) in 44 career games.

Senior forward Meghan Maher is averaging 6.0 points per game. She enjoyed a 20-point outburst vs. Central Christian College on Nov. 16. The Raymore, Mo., native averaged 5.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game for the Gorillas last year. She converted 42 of 101 3-point field goals (.416) on the season.

Maher has scored 548 points (5.6 ppg) and grabbed 149 rebounds (1.5 rpg) in 97 career games.

Among Pitt State's reserves, sophomore guard Sydnee Crain is averaging 5.3 points and 2.4 assists per game, while senior forward Marina Bauza Rubert is scoring 3.8 points per game to date. Sophomore guard Erin Davis is contributing 2.6 points in seven games played, while redshirt freshman forward Ashton McCorry also is chipping in with 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.

Crain, from Girard, Kan., contributed 3.4 points and 1.4 assists per game  in 12.9 minutes of action in 2018-19.

Pitt State Probable Starters
  F  15  Athena Alvarado, 6-0, Sr., Wichita, Kan. 
  F  35  Meghan Maher, 6-0, Sr., Raymore, Mo.
  G   1  Maya Williams, 5-9, Jr., Carthage, Mo.
  G   2  Kaylee DaMitz, 5-4, So., Preston, Mo.  
  G  10  Tristan Gegg, 5-7, So., Altamont, Kan.