PITTSBURG - The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team is set to begin the 2025-26 season this weekend in Kearney, Neb., at the MIAA/NSIC Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Nebraska Kearney at the Health & Sports Center.

Ranked No. 7 in the WBCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, the Gorillas will go up against Northern State on Friday at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and end the weekend on Saturday against Minnesota Crookston at Noon.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her eighth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 148-62 (.705) record. During her tenure as head coach, she has guided the Gorillas to the Division II National Tournament four times (2025-23 & 2019) with her debut season marking the first coach in program history to guide the Gorillas to a 20-win season. Last season, Davied was named the MIAA and KBCA Four Year College Coach of the Year after helping lead the Gorillas to a 33-4 overall record and a NCAA Division II Final Four apperance after claiming the MIAA regular season, MIAA Tournament and Central Region Tournament championships. 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
Pittsburg State will head into the 2025-26 season as the defending MIAA regular season champions after a 33-4 overall, 18-1 in the MIAA record. The Gorillas have made it to three straight NCAA Division II National Tournaments, claiming the Central Region crown a season ago. Picked to finish third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and first in the Media Poll, the Gorillas return two starters looking to continue the winning tradition at Pitt State. Harper Schreiner and Macie Mays were All-MIAA performers a season ago and are joined by Clara Swearingen, Ja'Miya Brown and Hannah Miller as returners. Schreiner is a three-time All-MIAA performer who in 100 career games, has scored 816 points, collected 581 rebounds and provided 428 assists. Mays was a third-team All-MIAA performer after averaging 13.7 points and 3.8 rebounds a game while shooting .513 from the field. Transfers, Ashlyn Yow (Metropolitan State University - Denver), Amanda Byrnes (Metropolitan State University - Denver) and Marie Wembadjonga (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College) are joined by freshman, Marin Adams (Farmington, Ark.), Karolina (Lola) Kiraga (Wistka, Poland), Kaycee McCumber (Farmington, Ark.) and Cambrie Phillips (Cave Springs, Ark.) round out the roster.

Schreiner's Focus
Harper Schreiner heads into the season with the second-best career assist-turnover ratio (2.10) in Pittsburg State history. The senior guard will also begin the season with the third-most assists (428) and ranks sixth for assists per game (4.28) in program history. With 812 career points in 100 games, Schreiner is looking to become the 8th Gorilla in program history to accumulate over 1,000 career points and 300 assists.

Consistent Mays
Macie Mays in two years with the Pittsburg State program, has scored 799 points (12.5) in 64 games and will be looking to become the next Gorilla to score over 1,000 points in their career wearing the Crimson and Gold. The El Dorado Springs, Mo., native is tied for the school record field goal percentage record after going 10-of-10 from the field against Northeastern State (Jan. 4, 2025) for a career-high 30 points at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

From Denver, Colo. to Pittsburg, Kan.
Senior Ashlyn Yow and junior Amanda Byrnes will be teammates at the collegiate level for the third season in a row after transferring into Pittsburg State from fellow Division II program, Metropolitan State University - Denver (MSU - Denver). Yow appeared in 77 games for MSU - Denver where she finished with 411 points (5.3), 140 rebounds (1.8) and 92 assists (1.2) while shooting .333 from distance. Byrnes played in 51 games as a Roadrunner, finishing with 153 points, 143 rebounds and 23 blocks in 12.9 minutes a game.

International Rillas
Marie Wembadjonga (Libreville, Gabon) and Karolina Kiraga (Wistka, Poland) have taken unique paths to end up being teammates this season at Pittsburg State. Wembadjonga played at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) last season where she averaged 7.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game, the Gabonese national began her collegiate career in 2023-24 at Chipola College where in 27 games she averaged 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 points a game. Wembadjonga played at the Lycee Joseph Ambouroue Avaro Secondary School in Gabon prior to playing collegiately. Kiraga will begin her collegiate career with the Gorillas after wrapping up a prep career at Providence Classical Christian Academy in Rogers, Ark. Karolina (Lola) averaged 17.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a game during her time at PCCA, being named an All-State performer three-times.

Farmington's Best
Marin Adams and Kaycee McCumber are coming off three straight seasons winning Arkansas State Championships (4A in 2023 & 2024, 5A in 2025). Adams earned All-State honors the past two seasons and was named an Arkansas Basketball Coaches Association Top 5 selection twice in her prep career. McCumber was named All-Conference the past three seasons at FHS.

Wolves Scout
Northern State will look to lean on three returners from a 19-11 overall, 15-7 in the NSIC record team a season ago. Picked to finish 10th in the NSIC Preseason Poll, fifth in the North Division the Wolves in head coach Paula Krueger's eighth season (99-101, .495) will look to defy expectation in 2025-26. Izzy Moore was selected as the Player to Watch from NSU by the NSIC Coaches after averaging 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds a game in 23.6 minutes off the bench. Also returning for NSU were Morgan Fiedler and Taylor Tool. Fiedler averaged 6.5 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game while starting in all 30 contests for the Wolves. Tool played in 28 games where she averaged 1.5 points in 7.3 minutes off the bench. Northern State played against NAIA, Valley City State at Wachs Arena on Oct. 23rd in an exhibition, coming away with a 60-53 win. VCSU was picked to finish eighth in the Frontier Conference Preseason Poll and is off to a 3-0 start to their season.

Golden Eagles Report
Minnesota Crookston will feature one of the more prominently known scorers in Division II for her seinor season, hoping to prove doubters wrong in head coach Natalie Maynihan's third season at UMC (18-39, .316). Picked 11th in the NSIC Preseason Poll and sixth in the North Division, UMC will look to the NSIC North Preseason Player of the Year to provide over 20 points a game again. Emma Miller was a first-team All-NSIC performer a season ago after averaging 22.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game while shooting 86-of-259 from distance (.332). Second-team All-NSIC performer, Riley Jenkins is back after averaging 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. Hope Dudycha, Rayna Klejeski, Halle Winjum, Natalie Mikrot and Brynlea Mahlen are also back from a season ago.

Series Histories
Pittsburg State holds a 3-0 advantage over Northern State dating back to 2015. The Gorillas picked up a 85-55 win over the Wolves on November 8th, 2024 in Aberdeen, S.D., in the most recent game. Against Minnesota Crookston this will be the second meeting all-time against the Golden Eagles, with the Gorillas coming out with a 93-79 win on Nov. 9th, 2024 in Aberdeen, S.D.