PITTSBURG – The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will make its final regular season road trip this week with matchups Thursday (Feb. 22) against Fort Hays State University and Saturday (Feb. 24) against the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
 
The Gorillas and Tigers will meet at 5:30 p.m. (CST) Thursday at Gross Memorial Coliseum, while Pitt State and the Lopers will battle at 2 p.m. at the Health & Sports Center on the UNK campus.
 
Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 110-55 (.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.
 
A Peek at The Gorillas
The Gorillas are 19-5 overall and 13-5 in MIAA play heading into Thursday's action. Pitt State is in fourth place in the MIAA standings following last week's performance. As a team, the Gorillas average 77.0 points with .771/.466/.331 shooting splits (FT./FG/3PT) and 42.2 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 6.0 steals and 4.5 blocks while giving up 64.3 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) with 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game while shooting .592 percent from the field. Sharpshooter Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) is averaging 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.0 made three-pointers a game. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) has emerged as one of the best freshmen in the conference with 11.4 points a game while shooting .546 percent from the field and .426 from three. Harper Schreiner (Eudora, Kan.) is stuffing the stat sheet with 7.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Jenna Shipley (Adrian, Mo.) has returned into the fray and been a spark off the bench averaging 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks a game while shooting .500 from three and .458 from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds a game while shooting .473 from the field. Alba Lozano (Leganes, Spain) leads the bench unit with 5.3 points a game in 12.6 minutes while shooting .516 percent from the field. Emma Martin (Mountain Home, Ark.) is averaging 11.1 minutes off the bench adding 2.1 points and 0.8 assists a night. Savannah Campbell (Rolla, Mo.) averages 11.8 minutes off the bench for 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 points a game while shooting .559 percent from the field. Ja'Miya Brown (North Little Rock, Ark.) averages 10.5 minutes a game off the bench with the freshmen recording 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds a game. Destiny Buerge (Carl Junction, Mo.) is averaging 10.1 minutes off the bench with 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists a game.
 
MIAA Individual Rankings
Grace Pyle leads the MIAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and in three-point percentage among qualified shooters (.353) while being fourth in points per game (16.8). Pyle is also sixth in minutes per game (32.9), eighth in assist-turnover ratio (1.52), ninth in assists per game (3.0), ninth in field goal percentage among qualified shooters (.409), 15th in rebounds per game (6.1) and 20th in blocks per game (0.6). Karenna Gerber leads the MIAA in field goal percentage (.592) and is second in blocks per game (2.0) while being fifth in points per game (16.4). Gerber is also eighth in rebounds per game (7.3) and 10th among qualified shooters in free throw percentage (.750). Harper Schreiner leads the MIAA for assist-turnover ratio (2.02) is second for assists per game (4.9) while being 12th in minutes per game (31.8), steals per game (1.5) and 18th in rebounds per game (5.8). Jenna Shipley is 12th in blocks per game (0.8). Macie Mays is 21st in points per game (11.4). Savannah Campbell is 24th in blocks per game (0.6).
 
A Grand Achievement Indeed
Junior forward/center Karenna Gerber became the 25th member of the 1,000 career points club at Pittsburg State against Central Oklahoma (Feb. 1). Gerber also became the 13th to do so while grabbing at least 500 career rebounds and the 3rd ever to grab at least 500 career rebounds and block at least 100 career shots. Head coach Amanda Davied has coached or played with 15 (including herself) of those in program history to have scored 1000 career points.
 
Private Pyle, Reporting For Duty
Junior guard Grace Pyle has proven to be one of the better shooters from deep once again in the MIAA with a conference leading 72 made three's so far. Pyle is now the sixth Gorilla in program history to record back-to-back seasons making at least 50 three's following her performance against Northeastern State (Jan. 27), is eighth on the PSU career list for makes from three with 155 in 69 games and tied for eighth in a single-season with Jenni Miller (1993-94) with 72.
 
Making A Career Out Of It
Sophomore guard Harper Schreiner has specialized in assists and steals through 55 career games for the Gorillas. Schreiner so far has dished out 244 assists and recorded 82 steals to rank 15th in career assists charts and 34th for steals. This season the Eudora, Kan., native has dished out 117 assists and nabbed 37 steals to lead the team in each category. Against Central Missouri (Feb. 7) 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.
 
Career 100 Trifecta Completed
This season the Gorillas have had some memorable feats accomplished involving the number 100. First, it was Grace Pyle making her 100^th 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 155 made threes to date is eighth with Morgan Westhoff (2011-15) seventh making 159 in her career. 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 133 blocks currently she is 10 blocks away from passing Lauren Brown (2009-13) for third 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.
 
What A Win Means
With a win this week the Gorillas will achieve a 20-win season in back-to-back seasons for the first time under head coach Amanda Davied. A win against Fort Hays State will also push the winning streak up to eight in a row and be the fourth straight win on the road.
 
Entrenched Tigers
Fort Hays State has an 19-6 overall record (13-6 MIAA) heading into Thursday's action. The Tigers are currently fifth in the conference standings and have qualified for the MIAA tournament. Inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, FHSU is 8-2 with the losses coming against Missouri Western and Central Missouri. As a team, Fort Hays averages 69.2 points a game while holding opposing teams to 57.2 points. The Tigers have a .757/.419/.334 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) while coming away with 37.4 rebounds, 9.4 steals and 3.8 blocks a game. Katie Wagner leads the team with 17.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals a game while shooting .463 from the field. Olivia Hollenbeck averages 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game while shooting .524 from the field. Emma Ruddle is the top shooter going 35-of-92 from three (.380) while averaging 7.2 points a game.
 
Lopers Paradise
Nebraska-Kearney is 18-7 overall, 12-7 in the MIAA heading into this weekend's action. The Lopers are seventh in the conference standings and have clinched a ticket to the MIAA tournament. At the Sports & Heath Center this season, UNK is 11-2 with losses to Northwest Missouri and Fort Hays State. As a team the Lopers average 74.5 points a game while holding opponents to 62.1 points. UNK, has a .730/ .442/ .329 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) while coming away with 42.7 rebounds, 8.0 steals and 2.2 blocks a game. Shiloh McCool leads the team with 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while shooting .472 from the field. Meg Burns is the top shooter going 44-of-98 from three (.449) while averaging 10.5 points a game. Jillian Aschoff leads the MIAA with 5.8 assists a game while adding 10.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game.
 
Series Records
Thursday's contest against the Tigers will be the 65th meeting between the programs. Fort Hays State holds a 28-36 advantage in the series overall; and in Hays the Gorillas are 11-20, going 2-8 in the last 10 games from Gross Memorial Coliseum. Saturday's contest against the Lopers will be the 49th meeting between the programs. Pittsburg State holds a 30-18 advantage in the series overall; and in Kearney the Gorillas are 12-11, going 6-4 in the last 10 games at the Heath & Sports Center.
 
Up Next
The Gorillas will close out the regular season with home games against Emporia State (Feb. 28) and Missouri Western (Mar. 2). With a berth in the MIAA tournament already secured for Pitt State they will await the end of the regular season to see who they will play against at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.