PITTSBURG — The No. 22 ranked Pittsburg State University women's basketball team returns from Christmas break to host Tabor College in a non-conference tune up Saturday (Dec. 30). Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (CST) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

Series Records
Saturday's contest will be the sixth meeting between the Gorillas and the Blue Jays. Pitt has an unblemished 5-0 record in the series, including an 84-69 win the last time out against Tabor on Dec. 29, 2022, in Pittsburg.

Blue Jays Coming To Town
Tabor owns a 9-2 overall record (6-0 KCAC) following its 84-50 win over Bethel College on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Blue Jays played an exhibition against Fort Hays State University, losing 65-41 on Monday, Dec.11, in their most recent action. As a team, Tabor averages 72.2 points a game with a .657/.476/.436 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) and is coming away with 35.5 rebounds. Defensively the Blue Jays collect 8.7 steals and block 3.1 shots a game while allowing 57.9 points. Lillie Veer leads the team with 9.6 points a game off the bench, going 13-of-25 from three (.520). Madie McCoy leads the starters in points per game, averaging 9.3 while going 20-of-43 from three (.465). She also pulls down a team-high 4.3 rebounds per game. Kassidy Beam is the top shooter on the squad, going 23-of-47 from three (.489) and averaging 8.4 points a game. Ja'Neysha Hendricks leads the team with 2.9 assists per game and adds 5.5 points nightly.

A Peek at The Gorillas
The Gorillas are 10-1 overall (5-1 MIAA) heading into Saturday's match-up. Pitt State, which currently sits tied atop the MIAA standings, is ranked No. 22 in the most recent WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll (released Dec. 19). The Gorillas made their first appearance in the top 25 poll since drawing a No. 23 national ranking on Jan. 22, 2019. As a team, the Gorillas average 80.1 points with .749/.476/.335 shooting splits (FT/FG/3PT) and 45.1 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 5.9 steals and 4.5 blocks while giving up 64.5 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) with 19.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.3 made 3-pointers a game. Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) averages 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting .610 percent from the field. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) leads the reserve unit with 11.8 points a game while shooting a team-best .682 percent from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while shooting .500 from the field. Jenna Shipley (Adrian, Mo.) is averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds a game while shooting .429 percent from three (6-for-14). Harper Schreiner (Eudora, Kan.) is stuffing the stat sheet with 8.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Amanda Davied owns a 101-51 (.664) record. During her tenure, 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 lead 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.

100 Trifecta Completed
This season the Gorillas have had some memorable feats accomplished involving the number 100. First, it was Grace Pyle making her 100th career three at No. 23 Missouri Western (Nov. 30) in the Gorillas 65-56 win. Pyle became the 17th Gorilla in program history to accomplish the feat and with 119 made threes to date is 12th after passing head coach Amanda Davied for 12th at Lincoln (Dec. 18). Not to be outdone, Karenna Gerber notched her 100th career block against Central Oklahoma (Dec. 9) in the 95-76 win at John Lance Arena to become the sixth in program history to accomplish the feat and with 106 blocks currently she is 21 blocks away from passing Athena Alvarado for fourth all-time. Davied joined in on the fun with her 100th win as a head coach coming in dramatic fashion. Engineering a 20-point comeback that began late in the third quarter the Gorillas forced overtime and beat No. 3 Central Missouri (Dec. 16) 101-93 in Warrensburg. Davied who was the quickest to 50 wins as a head coach in program history is now also the quickest to 100 wins needing 151 games compared to her former mentor and previous record holder, Steve High who needed 156 games.

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 host Missouri Southern State University to resume MIAA play and begin the 2024 calendar slate. Tip-off from John Lance Arena is set for 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Jan. 6.