Game Notes
Live Stats - Emporia State
Live Stats - Central Oklahoma
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PITTSBURG, Kan. -- This week the Gorillas embark on their final road trip of the 2012-13 regular season. The team will face Emporia State for the first time this season before traveling to Central Oklahoma to face the Bronchos for the season time this season.
Scouting Emporia State
Emporia State has a 16-6 record overall and an 11-3 record in MIAA play. The Lady Hornets are third in the conference standings behind Wahburn and Central Missouri. The team’s three conference losses came at the hands of Northeastern State, Central Missouri and Truman. The Lady Hornets are currently on a nine-game win streak, dating back to a 20-point loss to Truman on January 12.
The Lady Hornets are shooting .420 from the floor and .360 from three-point range. The team averages 70.4 ppg, while allowing opponents only 61.1 ppg. It outrebounds its opponents by 4.2 rpg, 39.5 to 35.3.
Three Lady Hornet players average double figures on the season. Laura Patrick leads the team with 14.7 pg. She is the team’s top three-point shooter with 54 on the season. Rachel Hanf scored 13.1 ppg and is just behind Patrick with 48 made threes, but leads in three-point shooting percentage with a .410. Merissa Quick scores 10.6 ppg and is the second leading rebounder with 6.0 rpg. She leads the team with 45 blocked shots and has the team’s leading shooting percentage with a .537 average. Rheanna Egli leads the team with 84 assists and 31 steals. Desiree Wylie is the leading rebounder with 6.9 rpg.
Scouting Central Oklahoma
The Bronchos are 9-13 overall and 2-12 in MIAA play. One of the team’s two conference wins was over the Gorillas in Pittsburg in the conference opener. The team’s other conference win came on Feb. 9 against Lincoln and ended a 10-game losing streak.
The Bronchos score 67.6 ppg, while allowing opponents 69.0. The team also gets outrebounded by almost seven a game, 42.6 to 35.8. The team shoots .399 from the floor and .321 from long range.
Two Bronchos players average double figures on the season. Alyssa Fuxa leads the team with 12.1 ppg and is also the leading rebounder with 5.5 rpg. Jill Bryan averages 10.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg. She leads the team in assists with 60 and steals with 53. She is also the leading three-point shooter, having made 34 threes on the season.
Scouting Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State is 15-7 overall and 9-5 in MIAA play. Pitt State has now won three straight games with home wins over Southwest Baptist, Truman and Northeastern State. The team has secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament and is currently seventh in the league standings. If the Gorillas can move into the top four in the league standings the team will get a bye for the first round of the MIAA Tournament. If the team finishes fifth through eighth, they will host a first round game at John Lance Arena on Tuesday, March 5.
Pitt State is hitting 44.2 percent of its shots from the floor, while holding opponents to a 35.7 shooting percentage. Pitt State has held two of its last three opponents to under a .325 shooting percentage, including holding Truman to .237 last week. The team is outscoring opponents by almost 10 points per game, 68.6 to 58.7. The Gorillas are also tough on the glass, outrebounding their foes 38.8 to 35.5, though that rebounding margin as been getting smaller as of late. Pitt State shoots .334 from three point range and .700 from the charity stripe.
Pitt State has only one player scoring in double figures, as Lizzy Jeronimus scores nearly 20 points per game at 18.5 ppg. Jeronimus also leads Pitt State in assists with 60 and is the second leading rebounder with 6.5 rpg. Morgan Westhoff comes off the bench to score 9.5 ppg as the Gorillas’ second leading scorer. Westhoff is the team’s top three-point shooter, as she has made 42 of 96 threes on the year for a .438 shooting percentage from long range. Lauren Brown leads the team in rebounds with 8.0 rpg after setting the school record with 22 rebounds against Northwest Missouri. Brown also leads the team in blocked shots with 41.
PSU vs. Emporia State
The series between Pitt State and Emporia State has been a very lopsided one, with Emporia leading the series 48-23, though Pitt State has won each of the last six meetings, including a sweep of the Lady Hornets in each of the last two regular season series and a win in the NCAA South Central Regional final last year. Emporia State won five in a row before the Gorillas took a 71-66 victory in PIttsburg on Feb. 17, 2010.
Prior to the current streak, Pitt State had not won back to back games in the series since winning three straight from Feb. 8, 1995 to Jan. 18, 1997. Emporia also won 13 of the first 14 meetings between the two teams. The longest streak of wins in the series was nine games by ESU from Jan. 5, 1998 to Feb. 21, 2001. Pitt State’s longest streak of wins is the current streak.
Scores in the series have also been very lopsided toward ESU. The Hornets have won 17 games by 20 or more points, while Pitt State has only won one game by that margin, a 35-point win in Pittsburg on Jan. 7, 2002. The largest win in the series was an 85-point Emporia win on Dec. 11, 1975.
PSU vs. Central Oklahoma
The Gorillas and Bronchos have met 20 times with PSU holding a 12-8 series advantage. The first meeting between the two teams on November 20, 1982 resulted in the Gorillas’ falling by a score of 58-77.
In the last six meetings the two sides have alternated victories with the Bronchos winning the last time the two sides met, a 70-62 decision in Pittsburg on December 6.
The longest winning streak in the series is PSU’s six game streak from 1992-1998. During that time the five of the six Pitt State victories were by 12 or more points. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 83-53 Gorilla win on Nov. 26, 1994 in Joplin, Mo. The Bronchos biggest win was a 90-67 winon Nov. 25, 1989 in Pittsburg.
Up Next
Pitt State returns to John Lance Arena for the remainder of the regular season. The Gorillas will host Missouri Southern for the annual Pink Game on Wednesday (February 27). The game will also help to determine the women’s basketball point in the Sonic Trophy Series. On Saturday (March 2), the Gorillas will honor seniors Lisa Elmer, Drew Roberts and Lauren Brown prior to tipping off against Emporia State.
