PITTSBURG — The 20^th ranked Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will play host to the University of Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 11) and No. 15 Fort Hays State University (Jan. 13) this weekend. Start time against the Lopers Thursday is slated for 5:30 p.m. (CST) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court, while Saturday's action against the Tigers tips at 1:30 p.m.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 102-52 (.662) 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.

A Peek at The Gorillas
The Gorillas are 11-2 overall and 5-2 in MIAA play heading into Thursday's action. Pitt State is ranked No. 20 in the most recent WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released Jan. 9th. The Gorillas are tied for fourth in the MIAA standings following the defeat to Missouri Southern (Jan. 6). As a team, the Gorillas average 78.5 points with .742/.473/.328 shooting splits (FT/FG/3PT) and 44.4 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 5.8 steals and 4.5 blocks while giving up 63.6 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) with 18.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 made three-pointers a game. Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) averages 17.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game while shooting a team-best .617 percent from the field. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) leads the bench unit with 10.8 points a game while shooting .614 percent from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game while shooting .489 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 8.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

Individual Rankings
Grace Pyle leads the MIAA in three pointers made per game (3.2), second in points per game (18.5 ppg), fourth in three-point percentage among qualified shooters (.350), eighth in assist-turnover ratio (1.73) and 10th in field goal percentage among qualified shooters (.424). Pyle is also 11th in assists per game (2.9) and 12th in rebounds per game (6.7 rpg). Karenna Gerber leads the MIAA in field goal percentage (.617) and blocks per game (2.1 bpg) while being third in points per game (17.9). Gerber is also 10th in rebounds per game (7.2) and 12th among qualified shooters in free throw percentage (.754). Harper Schreiner leads the MIAA in assist-turnover ratio (2.32), third in assists per game (5.0 apg), eighth in rebounds per game (7.6 rpg) and 10th in free throw percentage among qualified shooters (.773). Jenna Shipley is eighth in the MIAA for blocks per game (0.9 bpg).

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 124 made threes to date is 10th after passing Leslie Dudley (1997-00) and Bailey Waugh (2008-11) against Missouri Southern (Jan. 6). 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 112 blocks currently she is 15 blocks away from passing Athena Alvarado for fourth all-time. Amanda 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.

Lopers Beware
Nebraska-Kearney owns a 12-2 overall record (6-2 MIAA) heading into Thursday's action. The Lopers are tied atop the MIAA standings with Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri. Picked to finish fourth by the MIAA preseason coaches' poll and fifth by the media, the Lopers are 4-1 on the road in Drew Johnson's first season in charge. As a team, the Lopers average 76.8 points a game with a .720/.455/.352 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) while grabbing 43.6 rebounds. Defensively, UNK gets 9.4 steals and 2.0 blocks a game while giving up 55.4 points and 30.5 rebounds. Individually, All-MIAA performer Shiloh McCool leads the team with 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds a game while shooting .464 percent from the field. Meg Burns is the top marksmen going 28-of-53 from deep (.528) while averaging 11.1 points a game. Kia Wilson rounds out the Lopers averaging in double-figures for scoring at 10.5 points a game and has a team-best nine blocks this season. Jillian Aschoff leads the team with 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals a game while scoring 9.9 points and adding 7.4 rebounds.

FHSU Coming to Town
Ranked 15th in the WBCA Poll announced on Jan. 9th, Fort Hays State owns a 12-2 overall reocrd (6-2 MIAA) heading into the week tied atop the MIAA standings with Nebraska-Kearney and Northwest Missouri. Picked to finish fourth in the MIAA media preseason poll and sixth by the coaches' the Tigers are 5-0 on the road in head coach's Talia Kahrs first season. As a team the Tigers average 70.0 points a game with a .749/.413/.337 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) to go with 39.2 rebounds. Defensively, FHSU collects 10.1 steals and 3.9 blocks a game while giving up 53.6 points and 33.4 rebouds. All-MIAA performer Katie Wagner is averaging 17.4 points and 8.8 rebounds a game while having a .800/.497/.542 (FT/FG/3PT) shooting split. Olivia Hollenbeck is the other Tiger to average in double-digit scoring at 10.3 per game to go with 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Sydney Golladay leads the team with 3.0 assists a game to go with 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds. Emma Ruddle leads the team with 1.4 made three's a game while shooting .377 percent from deep (20-of-53).

Series Records
Thursday's contest against the Lopers will be the 48th meeting between the programs. Pitt State holds a 29-18 advantage in the series overall; and the Gorillas are 16-7 vs. the Lopers in Pittsburg. In the last 10 games, UNK holds a 6-4 edge including five straight from Jan. 2021 - Feb. 2023. Saturday's contest against the Tigers will be the 64th meeting between the programs. FHSU holds a 35-28 advantage overall but the Gorillas maintain a slight 16-13 edge in games played in Pittsburg. In the last 10 games, Fort Hays State has an 8-2 record but Pitt State swept the season series in 2023.

Up Next
Pitt State will face a pair of road games against Emporia State next Wednesday (Jan. 17) and Washburn next Saturday (Jan. 20).