PITTSBURG - The Pittsburg State University women's basketball team is set to partake in their second Top 10 battle of the season on Saturday (Dec. 13) against the Fort Hays State University Tigers in Hays, Kan., before hosting St. Mary (Kan.) in the annual Kid's Day Game on Monday (Dec. 15).

Tip off against the No. 8 Tigers is set for 2:00 p.m. (CT) from Gross Memorial Coliseum. Against the Spires on Monday, tip off from John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court is set for 11:30 a.m.

Head Coach Amanda Davied
In her eighth year as head coach of her alma mater, Davied owns a 154-63 (.710) 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 appearance 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.

WBCA Poll Update
Released on Tuesday (Dec. 9), the Gorillas are No. 6 in the Division II Poll after beginning the season 6-1. Pittsburg State when ranked No. 6 are 6-0 with wins coming in the 2016-17 and 2024-25 seasons. As a Top 25 ranked team in the WBCA Poll, the Gorillas all-time are 147-51 (.742) while being ranked for 106 weeks. Pittsburg State has featured in the Top 25 in 21 straight editions of the WBCA Coaches Poll dating back to last season's opening poll.

A Peek at the Gorillas
Pittsburg State on the early season are 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA after home wins over Central Oklahoma and Rogers State last week. Picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll and third in the Coaches Poll, the Gorillas have made it to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in three straight seasons. Leading the team with 12.1 points and 3.0 assists a game while shooting .885 from the charity stripe (23-of-26) is Marin Adams. Harper Schreiner is averaging 11.7 points, 8.1 rebounds 2.3 assists a game. Clara Swearingen has connected on 10 attempts from behind the three-point arc this season and is averaging 8.9 points a game. Kaycee McCumber leads the MIAA and ranks 20th in Division II with 10.6 rebounds a game while adding in 8.3 points a game. Ja'Miya Brown is averaging 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. Hannah Miller (7.0), Cambrie Phillips (6.4) and Amanda Byrnes (5.1) round out the Gorillas averaging above five points a game this season. As a team, Pittsburg State is scoring 69.3 points a game while opponents are scoring 65.0 points. On the glass, the Gorillas are +7.9 on average over their opponents with 43.4 rebounds a game (14.4 offensive).

Schreiner The Stat Sheet Stuffer
Harper Schreiner notched her ninth career double-double against Minnesota Crookston (Nov. 15), finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Golden Eagles. In 107 career games wearing the Crimson and Gold, Schreiner has accumulated 898 points, 638 rebounds, 444 assists and 159 steals. Among Pitt State career ranks, Schreiner is third in assists, seventh in rebounds and eighth in steals.

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.

Career Highs A Plenty
Ja'Miya Brown finished with career-highs with 20 points and 11 rebounds at Northwestern Oklahoma (Nov. 20). Amanda Byrnes came away with a new career-best five blocks at Northwestern Oklahoma (Nov. 20). Hannah Miller against Northern State (Nov. 14) in Kearney, Neb., came away with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, setting new career benchmarks in each category. Clara Swearingen finished with 20 points and five rebounds against Angelo State (Nov. 30), while providing five assists against Minnesota Crookston (Nov. 15) in Kearney, Neb.

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. Adams is averaging 12.1 points a game while going 23-of-26 from free throws (.885). McCumber in 24.6 minutes is averaging 8.3 points and 10.6 rebounds a game while converting on .737 of free throws (28-of-38).

Bentonville's Hidden Gem
Arkansas, better known as "The Natural State" features four players on the Gorillas active roster that played high school basketball in their prep careers in Marin Adams, Kaycee McCumber, Karolina Kiraga and Cambrie Phillips. Phillips prepped at Bentonville High School where she averaged over 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block a game as a junior at BHS. This season, Phillips in 19.6 minutes off the bench is averaging 6.4 points while shooting .417 from distance (5-of-12).

MIAA Preseason Poll
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association on October 6th announced the Preseason Coaches and Media Polls for Women's Basketball. In the coaches poll, Fort Hays State, Washburn, Pittsburg State and Central Missouri were picked to finish first-fourth. Nebraska - Kearney, Missouri Western, Missouri Southern , Northwest Missouri, Northeastern State and Arkansas - Fort Smith rounded out the top ten teams. Emporia State, Central Oklahoma, Rogers State and Newman completed the poll in 11-14. In the media poll, Pittsburg State was picked first and was followed by Fort Hays State, Washburn and Central Missouri in the top four. Rounding out the top ten in the media poll were Nebraska - Kearney, Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri, Arkansas - Fort Smith, Missouri Southern and Emporia State. Northeastern State, Central Oklahoma, Rogers State and Newman were picked to finish 11-14.

FHSU Report
Fort Hays State is 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA, in the latest WBCA Division II Coaches Poll the Tigers were the No. 8 team. Leading the charge as the Division II leader for points per game is Talexa Weeter at 28.1. Weeter this season so far is also adding 8.8 rebounds a game to lead the team and is shooting .812 from free throws (56-of-69). Olivia Mortensen is the other member of the team to average in double figures for points per game at 11.6. Brooke Loewe leads all NCAA Divisions this season with 9.9 assists per game to go with 9.5 points a night. Ellie Stearns is the top shooter from three this season, going 19-of-55 (.345), while averaging 9.4 points a game. As a team the Tigers are scoring 76.9 points a game and opponents are scoring 67.3. 

Spires Scout
St. Mary (Kan.) is 7-5 on the season and 4-2 against KCAC opponents this season. Monday's contest will be an exhibition game for the Spires. On the season, St. Mary is averaging 76.2 points a game while allowing 71.6 to opponents. Addison Tower leads the team with 13.5 points a game while going 37-of-102 from distance (.363). Abby Wendte is the team leader with 26 steals (2.2) while adding in 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Keely Barnard is the other member of the team to average double digits for points per game at 11.0. Mary Olson and Saige Grampsas lead the team with 5.1 rebounds a game.

Series Histories
Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State have meet 68 prior times with the Tigers coming away with a 38-30 advantage in the series. At Gross Memorial Coliseum, the Tigers are 22-11 overall against PSU and are 9-1 in the last 10 meetings in Hays, Kan. Against St. Mary (Kan.), Pittsburg State has won the prior four meetings during the 2013-14, 2015-16, 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. On average the Gorillas have scored 90.8 points and allowed 51.0 points against St. Mary.