KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team rushed out to a big lead thanks to a dominant second quarter and rode that momentum to a 77-55 victory over Missouri Western State University Saturday (Mar. 9).

The Gorillas now advance to the Finals of the 2024 MIAA Basketball Championships presented by Southern Bank with their victory over the top-seeded and No. 18 ranked Griffons, the MIAA regular season champions.

Pitt State will meet No. 3 seed Fort Hays State University Sunday (Mar. 10) at 1 p.m. (CST) at historic Municipal Auditorium. The Lady Tigers defeated No. 2 seed Northwest Missouri State University, 56-49, in the second semifinal match-up Saturday.

Karenna Gerber posted a game-high 20 points to lead three Pitt State players in double figures. Grace Pyle added 15 points and Macie Mays finished with 13. Sydney Holmes and Jenna Shipley chipped in with nine and seven points, respectively. Pyle eclipsed 1,000 career points in the contest, becoming the 26th Pitt State player to reach the 1,000-point threshold.

Pitt State (23-7), which defeated MWSU (25-5) for the first time in three match-ups this season, outscored the Griffons, 22-12, in the pivotal second period, after taking an 18-13 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

The Gorillas outscored MWSU, 22-11, at the free throw line in the contest. Pitt State shot 47.1 percent from the field (24-51) compared to 29.9 percent shooting by the Griffons (20-67).

Johnni Gonzalez was the lone MWSU player to reach double figures in the contest with 12 points.

Pitt State advances to the championship game of the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2015-16. This will be the Gorillas third appearance in the MIAA Tournament finals (1992, 2016) as Pitt State seeks its first-ever MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship.