PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will open MIAA action on the road this week beginning Wednesday (Dec. 4) against the University of Central Oklahoma.

Tipoff against the Bronchos is set for 5:30 p.m. (CST) from Hamilton Field House at Edmond, Okla. To end the week the Gorillas will face the Rogers State University Hillcats at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 7) at the Claremore (Okla.) Expo Center.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her seventh year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 121-59 (.672) record. During her tenure as head coach, she has guided the Gorillas to the Division II National Tournament three times (2024, 2023 & 2019) with her debut season marking the first coach in program history to guide the Gorillas 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
Pitt State is off to a 6-1 start to the season. The Gorillas, ranked No. 8 in the most recent WBCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, have won six straight games since a season-opening loss to No. 15 Ferris State on Nov. 2. Pitt State posed a 75-55 victory over Arkansas Tech in their last game Wednesday (Nov. 27). Karenna Gerber leads the team with 16.0 points and 8.1 rebounds a game while shooting a team-best .595 from the field. Macie Mays at 14.6 points a game and .548 percent from the field ranks second among team ranks. Grace Pyle has gone 19-of-57 from three-point attempts this season for .333 while averaging 13.3 points a game and hauling in 3.7 rebounds. Harper Schreiner has dished out 25 assists to lead the team with at 3.6 nightly, while Maycee James has come away with 19 steals on the season good for 2.9 a game to lead the squad. The bench unit includes Savannah Campbell (5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds a game), Sydney Holmes (4.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game), Hannah Nilges (4.6 points a game shooting .455 from three), Alba Lozano Davila (3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds a game), Clara Swearingen (2.4 points a game shooting .333 from three-point attempts), Destiny Buerge (1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds a game), Ja'Miya Brown and Hannah Miller.

KG Demonstrates Greatness Nightly
Senior forward Karenna Gerber is a consistent presence on both ends of the floor with her effort and talent being on full display over her career. She ranks first in career double-doubles (24) at Pittsburg State, second in field goal percentage among qualified shooters (.586), third in blocks per game (1.53), blocks (151) and rebounds (694), sixth in rebounds per game (7.0), 10th for free throws attempted (400), 112th in free throws made (298), 13th in points (1,296) and for field goals made (499).

GP Chasing After Legends
Senior guard Grace Pyle has proven over the past two seasons to be one of the better shooters in the MIAA and figures to be in contention to be recognized as one of the best shooters in the conference this campaign. For her career, the McPherson, Kan., native ranks fifth in team ranks for made three-pointers (186) passing Drew Roberts (2009-13) against Arkansas Tech (Nov. 27). Pyle is also 16th in points scored (1,134) with Terry Barto (1984-87) at 1,226 next to be surpassed. Already the sixth Gorilla to accomplish back-to-back 50 or more made three-pointers in a season, Pyle is gunning to join Jenni Miller (1994-97), Mikaela Burgess (2015-18), Shelby Lopez (2017-19) and Tristan Gegg (2020, 22-23) as Gorillas to accomplish the feat in three seasons.

Schreiner's Game
Junior guard Harper Schreiner has specialized in assists and steals through 70 career games for the Gorillas. Schreiner so far has dished out 291 assists and recorded 102 steals to be ninth in career assists charts and 31st for steals. Last season the Eudora, Kan., native dished out 139 assists and nabbed 54 steals to lead the team in each category. Against Central Missouri (Feb. 7, 2024) she became the fourth player in program history to record 100 assists seasons as a freshman and sophomore (Amanda Davied, Kaylee DaMitz & Leslie Dudley) and the eighth time overall a player had back-to-back 100 assists seasons.

M&M Express
Sophomore guard/forward Macie Mays had one of the better freshman campaigns in Pitt State history last season finishing the season averaging 11.2 points and grabbing 3.3 rebounds while shooting .534 from the field and .419 from three. This season she is averaging 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game while shooting .548 from the field (40-of-73) and is 17-of-20 from free throws (.850).

What's Up Holmes
Senior guard Sydney Holmes successfully completed her first season in the starting lineup last campaign and looks to put together another solid year for the Gorillas as a senior. For her career, Holmes has appeared in 97 games with 552 points scored, 415 rebounds corralled and 123 assists dished out while shooting .438 from the field.

Savy In The Paint
Junior forward Savannah Campbell gained valuable experience in her sophomore campaign that has helped her lead the charge off the bench this season. The Rolla, Mo., native is averaging a team-best 5.3 points a game off the bench, going 13-of-30 from the field (.433).

Nilges The Marksmen
Senior guard Hannah Nilges introduced herself to the Pitt State faithful with a career-day against the Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm (Nov. 3), going 6-of-8 from three for a career-high 20 points. This season she is 10-of-22 from deep (.455) ranking second on the team in makes and attempts. The Jefferson City, Mo., native spent her first three collegiate seasons at Division I Drake University where she appeared in 44 games as a Bulldog.

MJ Is Everywhere
This season the junior guard from Goddard, Kan., Maycee James has showcased multiple impactful performances on both ends of the court. Against Northwestern Oklahoma (Nov. 21) she finished with 10 assists, seven rebounds, six steals and six assists. It marked the third time in the last five years a Gorilla finished a game with 10 assists joining Harper Schreiner (at Lincoln, Dec. 18, 2023) and Kaylee DaMitz (vs. Missouri Western, Dec. 17, 2020). The six steals were also the most since Paige Imhoff collected as many steals vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith (Nov. 18, 2017). This season she is up to 22 assists, 19 steals and five blocks.

Clara From Three
Freshman guard Clara Swearingen against SNU (Nov. 3) went 2-of-2 from three-point range for her first collegiate points. This season she is 5-of-15 from three-point attempts (.333). The Nevada, Mo., native averaged 23 points a game on her way to Conference Player of the Year honors last school year at Nevada H.S.

Gerber Becomes Double-Double Queen
With her first double-double of the 2024-25 season against Ferris State, senior Karenna Gerber set a team record for double-doubles in a career. The Haltstead, Kan., native passed PSU Hall of Famer LaTonya (McGee) Mekha (1983-86) with her 22nd career double-double against the Bulldogs. To date, Gerber has 24 career double-doubles.

Polls And Scrolls
The Gorillas, the preseason No. 1 pick in the 2024-25 MIAA Coaches Poll, posted a 24-8 record (15-7 MIAA) a year ago. Pitt State captured the MIAA Postseason Tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. This season the Gorillas were also listed 13th in the initial WBCA/NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and have been 13th in the last two installments.

Trio Named All-MIAA
Last season Pitt State had three named to the All-MIAA teams in Karenna Gerber, Grace Pyle and Harper Schreiner. Gerber and Pyle were first-team representatives and the only duo to be listed in the first, second or third teams among the association. Schreiner was an honorable mention for the second year in a row.

Another Trip To The Big Dance
In the Gorillas 35 years of competing at the Division II level the women's basketball team has qualified for 13 National Tournament appearances. In those 13 appearances, Pitt State is 9-13 (.409) with two Elite Eight appearances in 2012 and 2016.

A Long Time Coming
For the first time in program history the Gorillas won the MIAA Tournament in 2024 after finishing as runners up in 2016 and 1992. Pittsburg State is a three-time MIAA regular season champion claiming the title in the 2016-17, 1995-96 and 1991-92 seasons.

Chos Report
Central Oklahoma is 1-7 overall heading into the opening weekend of MIAA action. Last time out, the Bronchos fell 83-76 at No. 4 Texas Woman's University (Nov. 27) in Denton, Texas. So far, UCO is 0-2 at home losing to GAC foes Southern Nazarene, 57-64 (Nov. 19) and Southwestern Oklahoma, 86-51 (Nov. 23). UCO finished last season 8-20 overall, 7-15 in the MIAA and was picked to finish 11th in the MIAA Coaches Poll. This season, Korie Allensworth leads the starters with 12.3 points a game shooting .826 from free throws (19-of-23) while adding 5.6 rebounds nightly. LaKysia Johnson leads the team with 12.4 points off the bench adding 1.8 steals a game and shooting .551 from the field (43-of-78). Jordyn Turner rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.8 per game with 9.1 rebounds to lead the squad.

Series History Against UCO
Wednesday's contest against the Bronchos will be the 40th ever meeting between the programs, with Pitt State owning a 27-12 advantage. The Gorillas beat Central Oklahoma in their last meeting Feb. 1, 2024 in Edmond, Okla., 77-57 behind Grace Pyle's 23 and Karenna Gerber's 20 point performances.

Hillcats Scout
Heading into the weekend Rogers State is 4-3 overall and will play Missouri Southern to begin MIAA play on Wednesday. Last time out for the Hillcats, RSU beat Henderson State, 73-68 on the raod (Nov. 30) in Arkadelphia, Ark. This season Rogers State is 3-1 at home with the lone setback coming against Southwestern Oklahoma, 71-60 (Nov. 9) in the second game of the season. Last season the Hillcats finished 10-18 overall, 5-17 in the MIAA and were picked 13th in the MIAA Coaches Poll. This season Ella Hafer leads the team with 13.0 points and 8.3 rebounds a game while shooting .449 from the field (35-of-78). Bailey Layman is the other Hillcat to average in double figures for scoring at 11.3 with a team-best 12 made three-point attempts. Cheyan McDaniel leads the team with a .813 free throw percentage (13-of-16) while averaging 8.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game.

Series History Against RSU
Saturday's contest against the Hillcats will be the 8th ever meeting between the programs with Pitt State having a 5-2 advantage. The Gorillas beat, Rogers State in their last meeting, Jan. 24, 2024 in Pittsburg, 82-48 behind 38 combined points from Grace Pyle and Karenna Gerber.

MIAA Win Leaderborard
(Since 1989-90 season)
1. Central Missouri *, 439-209 (.677)
2. Washburn *, 435-212 (.672)
3. Emporia State *, 419-195 (.682)
4. Pittsburg State *, 403-243 (.624)
5. Missouri Western *, 377-269 (.584)
6. Missouri Southern *, 326-321 (.504)
7. Northwest Missouri *, 270-376 (.418)
8. Fort Hays State *, 234-126 (.650)
9. Southwest Baptist ^, 229-391 (.369)
10. Truman State &, 141-280 (.335)
11. Nebraska-Kearney *, 139-104 (.572)
12. Central Oklahoma *, 116-125 (.481)
13. Missouri S&T %, 88-180 (.328)
14. Northeastern State *, 71-171 (.293)
15. Lincoln (Mo.) @#, 56-373 (.131)
16. Lindenwood ^, 47-88 (.348)
17. Southeast Missouri ?, 40-6 (.870)
18. Missouri-St. Louis +, 31-81 (.277)
19. Nebraska-Omaha !, 23-39 (.371)
20. Rogers State *, 23-84 (.215)
21. Newman *, 19-88 (.178)
22. Arkansas-Fort Smith *, 0-0 (.000)
* - Current Member Institution
# - Left conference in 2024
^ - Left conference in 2019
& - Left conference in 2013
! - Left conference in 2011
% - Left conference in 2005
@ - Left conference in 1999
+ - Left conference in 1996
? - Left conference in 1991