PITTSBURG – The Pittsburg State University women's basketball will hit the road to face off against Emporia State University Wednesday (Jan. 17) and Washburn University Saturday (Jan. 20). The Gorillas and Lady Hornets will meet at 5:30 p.m. (CST) Wednesday at William L. White Auditorium in downtown Emporia, Kan., while Pitt State and the Ichabods will take the court at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lee Arena on the WU campus.
 
Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 103-53 (.660) 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 12-3 overall, 6-3 in MIAA play and ranked No. 25 in the most recent WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll heading into Wednesday's action. Pitt State is tied for third in the MIAA standings following last week's performances. As a team, the Gorillas average 77.1 points with .760/.465/.313 shooting splits (FT/FG/3PT) and 43.7 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 5.9 steals and 4.5 blocks while giving up 64.1 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) with 18.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 made three-pointers a game. Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) averages 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game while shooting a team-best .594 percent from the field. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) leads the bench unit with 10.8 points a game while shooting .584 percent from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a game while shooting .490 from the field. Harper Schreiner (Eudora, Kan.) is stuffing the stat sheet with 8.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

Individual Rankings
Grace Pyle leads the MIAA in three pointers made per game (3.0), second in points per game (18.2 ppg), third in three-point percentage among qualified shooters (.341) and eighth in assist-turnover ratio (1.73). Pyle is also 11th in assists per game (2.9), free throw percentage among qualified shooters (.745) and 12th in rebounds per game (6.9 rpg). Karenna Gerber leads the MIAA in field goal percentage (.594) and blocks per game (2.1 bpg) while being fifth in points per game (16.5) Gerber is also 10th in rebounds per game (7.1) and among qualified shooters in free throw percentage (.754). Harper Schreiner is second in the MIAA for assist-turnover ratio (2.24), third in assists per game (5.1 apg), fifth in free throw percentage among qualified shooters (.815) and is ninth in rebounds per game (7.3 rpg).

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 128 made threes to date is ninth after passing Erin Davis (2018-23) against No. 15 Fort Hays State (Jan. 13). 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 117 blocks currently she is 10 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.

Going To Stingers World
Emporia State has an 8-7 overall record (5-4 MIAA) heading into Wednesday's action and is tied with Washburn for eighth in the conference standings. Inside White Auditorium the Lady Hornets are 7-3 with losses to Henderson State (Nov. 10), Harding (Nov. 11) and Newman (Jan. 3) so far. As a team, Emporia State averages 66.1 points a game with a .673/.365/.276 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) while hauling in 39.9 rebounds. Defensively they collect 7.7 steals and 2.7 blocks a game while opponents score 63.8 points. Faith Paramore leads the team with 13.7 points a game while adding 8.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Queen Ulabo leads the team with 8.8 rebounds a game while scoring 9.7 points from .397 percent from the field. Gracie Gilpin is the shooter to watch going 37-of-118 (.314) fro three this season while averaging 9.3 points a game. Katie Horyna averages a team-best 3.9 assists a game while adding 8.1 points. Tylieea Wallace is averaging 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds off the bench in 17.5 minutes a game while shooting a team-best .474 percent from the field.

Visit To Fortress Lee Arena
Washburn enters the week with a 10-5 overall record (5-4 MIAA) to be tied with Emporia State for eighth in the conference standings. Lee Arena has become a stronhold for the Ichabods having a 6-0 record on home court so far. As a team they average 74.8 points a game with a .703/.432/.369 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) and pulling down 41.5 rebounds. Defensively, Washburn is coming away with 6.7 steals and blocking 2.5 shots a game while opponents are scoring 62.6 points. Aubree Dewey leads the team with 15.9 points, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game while also grabbing 5.7 rebounds at point guard. Yiibari Nwidadah is a presence in the post averaging 13.3 points and a team-best 9.9 rebounds a game while shooting .575 percent from the field. Aniah Wayne is the top shooter on the team going 35-of-97 (.361) from three while averaging 10.4 points a game.

Series Records
Wednesday's contest against the Lady Hornets will be the 99th meeting between the programs. Emporia State holds a 65-33 advantage in the series overall; and is 32-13 in Emporia. In the last 10 games the program have gone 5-5 with Pitt State claiming the two games last season. Saturday's contest against the Ichabods will be the 94th meeting between the programs. Washburn holds a 55-38 advantage overall and are 29-15 when games are played in Topeka. In the last 10 games, Pitt State has an 7-3 record and won four of the last five on the road.

Up Next
Pitt State will return home to host Rogers State University (Jan. 24) and Northeastern State University (Jan. 27) to conclude January. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. (CST) against the Hillcats and 1:30 p.m. against the RiverHawks in John Lance Arena.