PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will travel to Topeka to take part in the Washburn Crossover Classic.

The Gorillas will face a pair of NCAA Division II Central Region opponents from the Great American Conference (GAC) in the two-day classic format tournament.

Pitt State will battle Oklahoma Baptist University at 4 p.m. (CST) Friday (Nov. 11) at Lee Arena; and the Gorillas will close out the action Saturday (Nov. 12) with a 1 p.m. match-up against Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

The Records
Pitt State enters its fifth season under head coach Amanda Davied. The Gorillas posted a 16-13 overall record during the 2021-22 season.

The Gorillas return two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad including senior guard Tristan Gegg who averaged 17.3 points per game and earned second-team All-MIAA honors for a second straight year.

Pitt State claimed a 77-71 road win over NCAA Division I Kansas City in an exhibition game on Oct. 30.

OBU posted a 14-14 record a year ago. The Bison welcome back six players from their 2021-22 squad.

SWOSU is coming off a 29-5 campaign in 2021-22 which saw the Lady Bulldogs advance to the NCAA-II National Tournament for a fifth straight season. SWOSU welcomes back nine players from last year's squad.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
Amanda Davied enters her fifth year as head coach at Pittsburg State after being hired to the position on May 21, 2018.

She has a 68-42 (.618) 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. She led the Gorillas to a 17-11 overall record in 2019-20, a 14-9 mark in the Covid-19 abbreviated 2020-21 campaign and a 16-13 record last year (2021-22).

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 351-202 overall record (.635), 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.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State returns two starters and eight letterwinners from its 2021-22 squad.  

Senior guard Tristan Gegg returns for a fifth year in the Pitt State program. She is a three-time All-MIAA performer.

Gegg started all 29 games last year, averaging 17.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and earning second-team All-MIAA honors for a second straight season. She made an MIAA leading 65 3-point field goals.

Gegg started all 23 games in 2020-21, averaging 15.8 points and 4.3 rebounds and earning second-team All-MIAA honors. The Altamont, Kan., native made a team-leading 43 3-point field goals and shot 90.2 percent (83-92) from the free throw line for the season.

Gegg averaged 17.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2019-20, earning third-team All-MIAA honors. She scored 20 or more points 10 times on the year. Gegg led the MIAA in scoring and free throw percentage (.881, 74-84) and ranked fifth in the conference in 3-point field goals (2.5 pg).

Gegg averaged averaged 8.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2018-19.

She has scored 1,573 points (14.6 ppg), grabbed 363 rebounds (3.4 rpg) and made 212 3-point field goals in 108 career games.

Senior guard Erin Davis also returns for a fifth season in the Pitt State program. Davis has started 32 of 81 career games played, scoring 438 points (5.4 ppg) and hitting .83 3-pointers.

The Independence, Mo., native averaged 9.4 points and shot .459 from the field (101-220) while making 49 3-point field goal attempts on the season.

She averaged 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in 2020-21 and she contributed 3.1 points in 17 games played in 2019-20.

Sophomore forward/center Karenna Gerber returns after a highly productive freshman campaign in 2021-22 in which she averaged 7.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game while shooting a team-best .570 from the field (81-142).

The Halstead, Kan., native ranked sixth in the MIAA in blocked shots and 14th in the conference in rebounding during her rookie campaign. She posted a pair of double doubles on the season.

Gerber was a two-time Kansas Class 3A All-State performer at Halstead High School. She earned All-League honors all four seasons.

Sophomore guard Grace Pyle contributed 7.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14 games played last year before suffering a season ending injury. She has converted 22 of 47 (.468) 3-point field goal attempts on the season.

Pyle was named the Kansas Class 5A Player of the Year as a junior in 2019-20 at McPherson High School and she also was a first-team Class 4A All-State selection her senior season.

Sophomore guard Sydney Holmes also is back for her second season in the Pitt State program. The Maize, Kan., native averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 2021-22.

Holmes earned Kansas Class 5A All-State recognition in each of her final two prep years at Maize High School.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jenna Shipley contributed 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last year. The Adrian, Mo., native finished the season third on the team in offensive rebounds (28) and blocked shots (10).

Shipley earned Missouri Class 2A All-State honors in each of her final two prep seasons at Adrian High School. She averaged 28.5 points and 14 rebounds per game as a senior.

Redshirt junior center Shayla Kohler and redshirt sophomore guard Emma Martin also saw limited action for the Gorillas in 2021-22.

Kohler, who played in 12 games for the Gorillas in 2021-22, averaged six points, seven rebounds and two assists per game as a senior at Platte County (Mo.) High School.

Martin, who played in 11 games for the Gorillas a year ago, averaged 2.3 points per game on the season and made six of 10 3-point field goal attempts.

She joined the squad from Mountain Home (Ark.) High School. A two-time All-Conference selection, Martin averaged 14.5 points, four rebounds and five assists per game for the Bombers.

Redshirt freshman forward Alba Lozano Davila is back for her second season in the Pitt State program after redshirting a year ago.

An international player, Lozano Davila joined the Gorillas from her native Spain where she averaged 16.3 points and 13.8 rebounds for Campus Promete during the 2020-21 season. 

The Gorillas also welcome key newcomers to the squad in graduate transfer guard/forward Nyah Pettus, freshman forward Savannah Campbell and freshman guard Harper Schreiner.

Pettus played the past two seasons at Southwest Baptist University. She started all 27 games in 2021-22 for the Bearcats, averaging 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Pettus was named to the Great Lakes Valley Conference All-Defensive Team.

The North Little Rock, Ark., native also played two seasons at Three Rivers Community College, averaging 8.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during her sophomore campaign.

Campbell was a two-time Missouri Class 5A All-State performer at Rolla (Mo.) High School. She earned All-District honors three times and All-Conference accolades all four seasons.

Campbell averaged 13.5 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game while helping the Bulldogs to a 22-7 record and a state quarterfinalist finish her senior season.

Schreiner signed with the Gorillas out of Eudora High School where she was a three-time Kansas Class 4A All-State performer (2020-22). Schreiner also was selected the 2022 Kansas Class 4A Player of the Year by Sports in Kansas after averaging 18.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 4.8 steals per game for the Cardinals during her senior campaign.

Gorillas Down Roos in Exhibition
Fifth-year senior Tristan Gegg scored a game high 34 points to lead the Pittsburg State University women's basketball team to a 77-71 victory over the University of Missouri-Kansas City Sunday (Oct. 30) at the Swinney Center.

Gegg made 10 of 16 shots from the floor, including seven of 10 3-point field goal attempts as the Gorillas shot 47.9 percent from the field in the contest.

The Roos led 15-12 after one quarter of play, but Pitt State outscored them by seven points, 25-18, in the second perod to take a 37-31 halftime advantage.

Pitt State led 66-59 with 7:39 to play in the game, but KC scored nine straight points to take a 68-66 led with 4:21 remaining. The Roos led 71-69 on a free throw by Jocelyn Ewell with 2:36 to go.

 Pitt State's Jenna Shipley knotted to score at 71-71 on a jumper with 2:21 remaining and Gegg hit a runner to give the Gorillas a 73-71 edge. The Gorillas held the Roos scorless down the stretch. Shipley added a pair of free throws and Alba Lozana Davila made an inside basket to pull away for the win.

Lozano Davila finished the game with nine points, while Karenna Gerber added eight points and four rebounds. Sydney Holmes grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds for the Gorillas while Harper Schreiner chipped in with five points and five assists.

KC got a team-leading points from Sanaa' St. Andre.