PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team will see a familiar face in its quarterfinal match-up of the 2024 MIAA Basketball Championships Friday (Mar. 8). The No. 5 seed Gorillas will meet fourth-seeded Missouri Southern State University at Noon (CST) at historic Municipal Auditorium.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her sixth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 112-57 (.663) 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 wrapped up regular season play with a 21-7 overall record (15-7 MIAA). As a team, the Gorillas average 75.6 points with .774/.464/.334 shooting splits (FT./FG/3PT) and 41.9 rebounds a game. Defensively, Pitt State is collecting 6.0 steals and 4.4 blocks while giving up 63.8 points a game. Individually, Pitt State is led by Karenna Gerber (Halstead, Kan.) with 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game while shooting .588 percent from the field. Sharpshooter Grace Pyle (McPherson, Kan.) is averaging 56.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 made three-pointers a game. Macie Mays (El Dorado Springs, Mo.) has emerged as a freshman to be key part of the offense with 10.7 points a game while shooting .538 percent from the field and .426 from three. Harper Schreiner (Eudora, Kan.) is stuffing the stat sheet with 7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals a game. Jenna Shipley (Adrian, Mo.) has returned into the fray and been a spark off the bench or in the staring lineup  averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks a game while shooting .500 from three and .460 from the field. Sydney Holmes (Maize, Kan.) is averaging 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds a game while shooting .456 from the field. Alba Lozano (Leganes, Spain) leads the bench unit with 5.7 points a game in 12.8 minutes while shooting .509 percent from the field. Emma Martin (Mountain Home, Ark.) is averaging 10.5 minutes off the bench adding 2.0 points and 0.7 assists a night. Savannah Campbell (Rolla, Mo.) averages 11.7 minutes off the bench for 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 points a game while shooting .522 percent from the field. Ja'Miya Brown (North Little Rock, Ark.) averages 10.2 minutes a game off the bench with the freshmen recording 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds a game. Destiny Buerge (Carl Junction, Mo.) is averaging 10.1 minutes off the bench with 3.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists a game.

MIAA Individual Rankings (As of Mar. 5)
Grace Pyle leads the MIAA in 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and is third in three-point percentage among qualified shooters (.336) while being sixth in points per game (15.7). Pyle is also ninth in field goal percentage among qualified shooters (.404), 12th in assists per game (2.9) and 20th in rebounds per game (5.8). Karenna Gerber leads the MIAA in field goal percentage (.588) and is second in blocks per game (1.9) while being fourth in points per game (16.1). Gerber is also eighth in rebounds per game (7.3) and 10th among qualified shooters in free throw percentage (.737). Harper Schreiner is third in the MIAA for assist-turnover ratio (1.87) and assists per game (4.5) while being 10th in steals per game (1.7) and 16th in rebounds per game (6.0). Jenna Shipley is 10th in blocks per game (0.9). Macie Mays is 25th in points per game (10.7). Savannah Campbell is 25th 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 75 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 158 in 73 games and eighth in a single-season with 75.

Making A Career Out Of It
Sophomore guard Harper Schreiner has specialized in assists and steals through 59 career games for the Gorillas. Schreiner so far has dished out 254 assists and recorded 92 steals to be 12th in career assists charts and 33rd for steals. This season the Eudora, Kan., native has dished out 127 assists and nabbed 47 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
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 158 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 137 blocks currently she is six 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.

Round Three, Ring The Bell!
Missouri Southern has a 20-8 overall record (16-6 MIAA) and is the fourth seed in the MIAA Tournament. This season the Lions average 72.9 points a game while holding opponents to 62.2 points. As a team they have a .784/.438/.359 shooting split (FT/FG/3PT) while coming away with 38.5 rebounds, 8.3 steals and 3.0 blocks a game. Krysyln Jones led the team with 12.4 points, 2.0 three's a game and shot a team best .388 percent from three on her way to All-MIAA second-team honors. The MIAA Freshman of the Year and honorable mention performer, Ryan Franklin averages 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game while shooting .527 from the field. Brandi Hudson averages 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a game while shooting .578 from the field on her way to All-MIAA honorable mention laurels. Kaitlin Hunnicutt is averaging 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 three's a game while shooting .366 from three and was an All-MIAA honorable mention selection. Maggie Sockey averages 7.3 points and 2.5 rebounds a game while shooting .433 from the field. Morgan Meyers is averaging 4.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 three's a game while shooting .383 from deep. Reese Webb averages 3.5 points and 4.2 rebounds a game. Mira Khan is averaging 3.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game while shooting .457 from the field.

Series Records
Friday's contest against the Lions will be the 106th meeting between the programs. Pittsburg State holds a 58-47 advantage in the series overall after splitting the regular season games this season. This will be the second year in a row the two programs will begin the MIAA Tournament against each other and the fourth meeting overall in the conference tournament. Missouri Southern leads the series in games played in the MIAA Tournament, 2-1 with wins in 2023 and 1993 while the Gorilla won the game in 2011. Overall the two teams are 5-5 in the last 10 games they have faced each other.

What Does A Win Mean
With a Pittsburg State win in the MIAA Championships quarterfinals, the Gorillas will earn a semifinal match-up against the winner of Thursday's battle between No. 1 seed Missouri Western and No. 8 seed Emporia State. A win over the Lions also would snap back-to-back losses by Pitt State at the hands of MSSU in postseason action.

Regional Implications
Listed seventh in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings (Mar. 6) the Gorillas are on the cusp of making it to back-to-back NCAA National Tournaments for the first time under head coach Amanda Davied. Missouri Southern was listed fourth with potential semifinal foe Missouri Western slotted in at two. At the other end of the MIAA Championships bracket Northwest Missouri is in the sixth seed in the regional rankings and will play the winner of Nebraska-Kearney vs. Washburn on Thursday (Mar. 7) in a Quarterfinal. Fort Hays State stayed as the third seed in the region and will play Central Missouri the ninth seed in a Quarterfinal game on Friday at 2:15 p.m. (CST). Minnesota State-Mankato secured the NSIC automatic bid Tuesday (Mar. 5) with an 89-74 win over the University of Mary (S.D.) and is eighth in the regional rankings. Rounding out the region, Southern Nazarene is first and will play Oklahoma Baptist in the Great American Conference Quarterfinals Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Harding the fifth seed in the region will play Ouachita Baptist on Thursday at 2:15 p.m., and Northwestern Oklahoma the tenth seed begins their GAC Championships against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday at 8:00 p.m.