PITTSBURG, Kan. -- This week will bring two top 25 matchups to John Lance Arena. The week opens on Wednesday (Jan. 14) with the highest ranked match up to ever take place in John Lance Arena, as No. 3 Emporia State comes to Pittsburg to take on the second-ranked Gorillas. Saturday (Jan. 17) bring No. 18 Washburn to town.

Scouting Emporia State
The Lady Hornets are 13-1 overall and 6-1 in MIAA. The team's one loss came at the hands of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Saturday, 61-62. ESU is currently tied with Central Oklahoma for third in the MIAA standings behind the Gorillas and Fort Hays State. In addition to conference foes, Emporia State has also played Henderson State in common with the Gorillas. The Lady Hornets won the game 93-53. The team is currently ranked No. 3 in the WBCA Poll.  
    The Lady Hornets outscore their opponents by 25.6 points a game, 78.4 to 52.8. They shoot at 46.5 percent, while holding opponents to 31.4 percent. Emporia State makes 6.6 threes a game to just 3.3 for opponents. The team also pulls down 16.1 rebounds per game more than opponents, 46.3 to 30.1. They commit 16.1 turnovers a game.
    Three Lady Hornets average double figures on the season, led by Kelly Moten with 14.4 points per game. She is second on the team in both assists (45) and steals (19). Merissa Quick adds 11.2 ppg and is second on the team in rebounds with 6.9 rpg. She leads thet eam in blocked shots with 50. Addie Lackey adds 10.5 ppg. She leads the team with 63 assists and 24 steals. Kelsey Barnwell (8.8 ppg) and Amber Vandiver (8.5 ppg) are each just under double figures.  Vandiver is the team's leading rebounder with 7.7 rebounds per game and has blocked 39 shots.

Scouting Washburn
No. 18 Washburn is 12-3 overall and 4-3 in league play and are currently tied for sixth in the league standings. The team's three conference losses have been at the hands of MIssouri Southern, Lindenwood and Central Missouri. The ichabods also faced Drury in the early portion of the season and earned a 87-79 overtime win.
    The Ichabods average 74.0 points and 44.2 rebounds per game, while opponents score only 56.1 points and pull down 30.5 rebounds per game. They hit .446 overall and .316 from three point range, while holding opponents to .353 overall and .272 from long range. The Ichabods make almost six threes a game and commit only 13.8 turnovers a game. They have a 1.2 assist to turnover ratio.
    Three players do a majority of the scoring for the Ichabods. Taylor Ignoto leads the team with 15.3 ppg. She has made 23 threes on the season. Casyn Buchman adds 13.7 ppg. She leads the team with 27 threes made and 57 assists. Honor Duvall adds 12.9 ppg and leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game. She adds 35 assists, 12 steals and 11 blocked shots.  

Scouting Pittsburg State
    The No. 2 Gorillas are almost through half of the season with a 15-1 record. Their No. 2 ranking is the higest in school history, tying the ranking from Jan. 2, 1995. The Gorillas' 15-1 record is the best in school history to this point. The 2011-12 team was a lso 15-1 in its first 16 games, winning 14 straight, losing one, then adding one more win. That team finished 27-6 and earned a trip to the Elite Eight. This year's team will play 33 games before the regular season is over.
    The Gorillas have earned two wins over ranked teams already this season, Concordia-St. Paul in the first game of the season and Drury, right after Thanksgiving. They also earned a win over Central Missouri, who was receiving votes, last week.
    Pitt State outscores its opponents by 20.4 ppg. The Gorillas score 77.8 ppg, while allowing opponents only 57.4 ppg. The Gorillas hit 45.9 percent of their shots overall and 33.3 percent from three-point range. The team holds opponents with 37 percent shooting overall and 30.7 percent three-point shooting. The Gorillas outrebound opponents by only 4.2, 38.0 to 33.8. Pitt State has a 1.0 assist to turnover ratio with 12.7 assists and 12.5 turnovers per game. The team commits just 12.5 turnovers a game.
    A big key to Pitt State's success this season is their depth and the ability for any player to step up on any given night. There is a lot of focus on the Gorillas' three-time All-American Lizzy Jeronimus. She currently leads the team with 20.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in assists with 41 (2.6 apg). She is the team's leading free throw shooter, having made 99-of-115 (.861) on the season. Junior Kylie Gafford also scores in double figures with 12.4 points and adds 5.8 rebounds per game. She leads the team in blocks with 27 and shares the steaks lead with Hadyn Herlocker with 21. Gafford and  Jeronimus have each scored in double figures in 15 of 16 games on the season. Each scored eight points in the games they did not hit double figures. Jeronimus has scored 20 points or more in 10 games this season, including five of the last six.        Cathy Brugman is just under double figures with 9.9 ppg. She adds 27 assists, 22 blocks and 10 steals on the season. She, Mikaela Burgess, Gafford and Jeronimus have each led the team in scoring in games this season. Gafford, Jeronimus, Burgess, Brugman, Elena Flott and Hailey Roderique have each led the team in rebounding. Burgess averages 7.8 points per game. Antqunita Reed gets 7.2 ppg. She has only played in six games so far this season after missing all the first semester games due to injury.
    Burgess and Morgan Westhoff share the three-point shooting lead. Burgess has made 22-of-58 on the season, whiel Westhoff's percentage is just slightly better as she has made 22-of-56.
    Brigit Hesser is second on the team in assists with 30 and has a 1.2 assist to turnover ratio. Herlocker has had two different games this season where she has had six steals. While Hailey Roderique and Paige Lungwitz have not scored a lot for the Gorillas, the make their presence felt on defense. Roderique has 15 steals on the season, while Lungwitz has 12, though much of their contributions aren't seen in a stat sheet.
    In addition to Burgess, Elena Flott is another young player that has stepped up and shown promise, playing behind Gafford. She is averaging 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds while only playing 11.0 minutes a game.

PSU vs. Emporia State
The series between Pitt State and Emporia State has been a very lopsided one, with Emporia leading the series 50-25, though Pitt State has won eight of the last 10 meetings, including a win in the NCAA South Central Regional final in 2012. The two teams split meetings each of the last two seasons. In 2012-13, the team's each one on the other's home court. Last season each team won on its own court.
    Emporia State won five in a row before the Gorillas took a 71-66 victory in PIttsburg on Feb. 17, 2010.
    Prior the Gorillas seven-game win streak from Feb. 17, 2010 to Feb. 20, 2013, 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 was the seven game streak from Feb. 17, 2010 to Feb. 20, 2013.
    Scores in the series have also been very lopsided toward ESU, though nine of the last 10 games have been decided by less than 10 points. 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. Washburn
Washburn has a decisive 50-26 lead in the all-time series against the Gorillas. Pitt State broke a 16-game losing streak to the Lady Blues with a 94-87 win on Jan. 21, 2009. The Gorillas added another win in the 2009-10, with a 58-57 overtime win in Pittsburg on Jan. 13. Washburn had won seven consecutive games over the Gorillas, with all but one being by double figures, until a 62-49 Gorilla win in PIttsburg to end the regular season last year.
    Prior to the 2009 win Pitt State had not won a game against Washburn since a 69-57 win on Feb. 10, 2001 in Topeka.         
    Washburn leads the series 21-15 in Pittsburg, 26-11 in Topeka and 2-0 at neutral sites. The longest streak of wins in the series is Washburn's 16-game streak from Feb. 23, 2002 to Jan. 14, 2009. Pitt State longest win streak was eight games from Jan. 8, 1997 to Jan. 15, 2000.
    The biggest margin of victory in the series was 65 points in a Washburn 101-36 win in the very first meeting on Jan .18, 1975. Pitt State's biggest win was 20 points on Jan. 28, 1978 in a 72-52 victory in Topeka.

In the Polls
    The Gorillas ring in at No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches Poll this week. The No. 2 ranking ties the higest ranking ever by a Pitt State squad. The Gorillas were also ranked No. 2 on January 2, 1995, the first poll of the 1994-95 season
    . Pitt State appeared in the first regular season poll at No. 10. The team moved to No. 8 the next week, then No. 6. Pitt State has been No. 5 in each of the last two polls        The Gorillas opened the season ranked No. 24 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll.
    Four Pitt State opponents were ranked in the top 25 to start the season, No. 3 Drury, No. 7 Emporia State, No. 10 Concordia St. Paul and No. 20 Central Missouri. Three additional opponents were receiving votes, Wingate, Washburn and Truman State.
    Currently Emporia State is No. 3, Washburn, 18, and Drury, 14. Central Missouri, Fort Hays State and  Central Oklahoma are all receiving votes.

Up Next
Pitt State has a long road trip ahead next week as the Gorillas travel to Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State on Thursday (Jan. 22) and Saturday (Jan. 24) next week. Fort Hays State is the only team, in addition to the Gorillas, that is still undefeated in conference play.