Gorilla Women's Upset Bid Falls Short - KOAM TV 7

Gorilla Women's Upset Bid Falls Short

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- The No. 15 Pittsburg State women's basketball team's (15-2) chance at upsetting No. 8 Northeastern State (15-1) fell just short on Wednesday night in Tahlequah, Okla. as the Gorillas fell 61-48.

Drew Roberts led the Gorillas with 13 points, while Brooke Conley chipped in 11. LIzzy Jeronimus and Larissa Richards were just under double figures with nine and eight, respectively. Jeronimus led the team with eight rebounds. Richards added seven and Conley and Morgan Westhoff each had five.

Pitt State took a tenuous early lead, but a six minute scoring draught allowed the Riverhawks to take over the lead. Morgan Westhoff hit a critical three to end the PSU scoring freeze with 9:10 left in the half. The two teams kept the game close, but some long range threes and strong free throw shooting by the RIverhawks gave them a 26-19 advantage at the half.

Pitt State never regained the lead in the second half and were not able to cut the Northeastern State lead to less than four. The Riverhawks played disruptive defense and were hitting shots from almost anywhere on the court.

Northeastern State hit 46 percent from the field and 50 percent from long-range for the game. The Gorillas shot just 33 percent overall and 23 percent from long range.

The Gorillas begin the second half of the trek through the MIAA schedule on Saturday (Jan. 21) as the team travels to St. Jospeh, Mo. to take on Missouri Western at 1:30 p.m.