PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State women's basketball team will begin MIAA play this week at Missouri Western Thursday (Nov. 30) and Northwest Missouri Saturday (Dec. 2). Thursday's game against MWSU is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. (CST) start at the MWSU Fieldhouse while Saturday's contest against NWMSU is set for 1:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.

The Mystical Beings
Missouri Western enters Thursday's action with a 4-1 record. The Griffons are ranked No. 23 in the most recent WBCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. MWSU was picked second in both the MIAA Coaches and Media Polls after posting a 24-7 record a year ago. The Griffons are led by Connie Clarke with 12.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game. Mackenzie Hart is second on the team with 10.6 points per game, leading the bench unit with a team-best 12 made three pointers. Tiani Ellison rounds out the double-digit scorers at 10.5 a game. Alyssa Bonilla leads the team with 2.4 assists a game while scoring 7.0 points. As a team, the Griffons average 75.4 points a game with .691/.435/.289 shooting splits (free throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-point percentage). Defensively, Western is collecting 10.0 steals and blocking 2.2 shots while giving up 61.6 points a game.

Cats On the Prowl
Northwest Missouri is off to a 5-0 start heading into a Thursday match-up against Missouri Southern. The Bearcats were picked sixth in the MIAA Media Poll and seventh in the MIAA Coaches Poll after a 15-15 record last season. NWMSU is led by Molly Hartnett with 14.8 points, 3.2 assists and 2.8 steals a game. Lindsey Kelderman leads the team with 13 made three's from 21 attempts (.619) to average 11.0 points a game. Kelsey Fields is averaging a near double-double a game at 10.0 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting .556 percent from the field. As a team the Bearcats average 81.4 points a game with .762/.432/.351 shooting splits (free throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-point percentage). Defensively, Northwest is collecting 10.4 steals and blocking 3.4 shots while giving up 65.0 points a game.

Best Start Since 2017-18
Pitt State is 5-0 to begin the season posting the best start through five games since 2017-18. Overall, this is the 11^th time in program history the Gorillas have begun the season undefeated through five games. This is the second time as head coach for Amanda Davied to be undefeated through five games and the ninth time overall in her association with the program.

A Peek at The Gorillas
Entering this weekend, the Gorillas are led by Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) with 17.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 three-pointers a game. Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) averages 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds a game while shooting .554 percent from the field. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) leads the bench unit with 13.0 points a game while shooting a team-best .750 percent from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds a game, Jenna Shipley (Adrian, Mo.) is averaging 6.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game. Harper Schreiner (Eudora, Kan.) is stuffing the stat sheet with 8.2 rebounds, 7.0 points and 5.2 assists a game. As a team the Gorillas average 79.2 points with .775/.457/.293 shooting splits (free throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-point percentage). Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 4.8 steals and blocks while giving up 63.0 points a game.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 96-50 (.658) record. During her tenure as head coach, she has guided the Gorillas to the Division II National Tournament twice (2022-23 & 2018-19) with her debut season marking the first coach in program history to guide the program to a 20-win season. Davied has deep ties to the program first as a player (1999-03), graduate assistant (2003-04) and assistant coach (2004-18) while serving as the lead assistant from 2007-18 for current Division I, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), head coach Lane Lord.

MIAA Preseason Polls Rank Gorillas Third
The 2023-24 MIAA Coaches and Media Polls listed Pittsburg State third in the conference field, behind Central Missouri and Missouri Western to round out the top three. UCM and PSU made it to the NCAA Regional Tournament last season along with MSSU (5/7) and UNK (6/5) after the Jennies were crowned regular season champs and the Lions claimed the MIAA Tournament crown.

Trio of All-MIAA Returners
Following the graduation of four-time All-MIAA guard Tristan Gegg (Altamont, Kan.) the mantel has been passed to lead the program to junior forward Karenna Gerber, junior guard Grace Pyle and sophomore guard Harper Schreiner. Gerber, a third-team All-MIAA selection last season, averaged 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game while shooting 57.6 percent from the field. Pyle received All-MIAA honorable mention honors a year ago, averaging 14.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 made threes and 0.9 steals a game and shooting 42.9 percent from the field (82.8 percent from the free throw line). Schreiner was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and an All-MIAA honorable mention performer after averaging 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game. She shot 49.5 percent from the floor and 86.8 percent from the charity stripe.

Up Next
Pitt State will make its home debut with MIAA games against Central Oklahoma next Thursday (Dec. 7) and Newman next Saturday (Dec. 9).