PITTSBURG — The 16th ranked Pittsburg State University women's basketball team is set to host MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University Saturday (Jan. 6). Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. (CST) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

Series Records
Saturday's contest will be the 104th meeting between the Gorillas and the Lions. Pitt State holds a 57-46 advantage in the series. At home, Pitt State is 32-18 vs. MSSU with seven wins in the last 10 games at John Lance Arena including a stretch of six straight from 2016-21.

Lions, Welcome Into The Jungle
Missouri Southern owns an 8-4 overall record (4-2 MIAA) following its 80-57 win over No. 18 Drury last Sunday (Dec. 31) at Springfield, Mo. The Lions claimed the 2023 MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship last season. This year, as a team the Lions average 74.6 points a game with a .801/.430/.358 (FT/FG/3PT) and 40.4 rebounds per game. Defensively, MSSU collects 8.7 steals and 2.1 blocks a game while allowing 65.4 points. Returning All-MIAA guard Kryslyn Jones leads the team with 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 made threes a game, shooting a .371 percentage (23-of-62) from beyond the arc. Kaitlin Hunnicutt averages 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 threes a game at .389 percent (21-of-54). Brandi Husdon leads the bench effort with 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game while shooting .548 percent from the field (40-of-84). Ryan Franklin rounds out double-digit scorers at 10.3 per game paired with a team-high 6.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks. Maggie Sockey averages 9.6 points a game while shooting .891 percent from free throws (41-of-46). Mia Topping leads the team with 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals a game while adding 8.7 points and 2.6 rebounds.

A Peek at The Gorillas
The Gorillas are 11-1 overall and 5-1 in MIAA play heading into Saturday's action. Pitt State is ranked 16th in the most recent WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released Jan. 2nd. As of Friday (Jan. 5) the Gorillas are alone atop the MIAA standings following No. 10 Fort Hays State's loss to No. 11 Central Missouri. As a team, the Gorillas average 79.7 points with .740/.479/.332 shooting splits (FT/FG/3PT) and 44.6 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 6.2 steals and 4.3 blocks while giving up 63.0 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) with 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 made three-pointers a game. Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) averages 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game while shooting .608 percent from the field. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) leads the bench unit with 11.1 points a game while shooting a team-best .653 percent from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while shooting .506 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 8.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals a game.

MIAA Team Rankings
Pitt State leads the MIAA in points per game (79.7), field goal percentage (.479) and rebounds per game (44.6). The Gorillas are second in blocks per game (4.3) and rebound margin (+16.7) while fourth in scoring margin (+16.7), assists per game (15.6), assist-turnover ratio (1.08) and free throw percentage (.740).

Individual Rankings
Grace Pyle leads the MIAA in three pointers made per game (3.1), second in points per game (18.5), third in three point percentage among qualified shooters (.356), eighth in assist-turnover ratio (1.64) and ninth in field goal percentage among qualified shooters (.426). Pyle is also 11th in assists per game (3.0) and 12th in rebounds per game (6.8). Karenna Gerber leads the MIAA in field goal percentage (.608) while being second in blocks per game (1.8) and third in points per game (18.0). Gerber is also 11th among qualified shooters in free throw percentage (.764) and 11th in rebounds per game (7.0). Harper Schreiner is second in the MIAA for assist-turnover ratio (2.31), third in assists per game (5.0), eighth in rebounds per game (7.5) and 10th in free throw percentage among qualified shooters (.780). Jenna Shipley is 10th in the MIAA for blocks per game (0.9).

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 120 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 107 blocks currently she is 20 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.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 102-51 (.667) 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 host the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State University next week in MIAA home action. The Gorillas will entertain the Lopers Thursday (Jan. 11) at 5:30 p.m. (CST) and battle the Tigers next Saturday (Jan. 13) at 1:30 p.m.