KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgGorilla Women Fastest in Program History to Reach 20-Win Mark

Gorilla Women Fastest in Program History to Reach 20-Win Mark

PITTSBURG -- With an 88-48 win over Northwest Missouri on Saturday (Feb. 4) the Gorilla women's basketball team is now 20-2 on the season. They are only the sixth team in school history to record 20 wins in a season and the fastest to reach that mark, achieving 20 wins in only 22 games.

The most wins in school history is 22, set in the 1981-82, 1991-92 and 1994-95 seasons.

Drew Roberts came up big for the Gorillas in the milestone win, tying her career-high with six made threes and scoring a game-high 20 points, the fifth 20-point game of her career. She was only one of six Gorillas scoring in double figures on the game. Alexa Bordewick added 13, Brooke Conley and Lauren Brown each added 12 and Lizzy Jeronimus scored 10. Brown also grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to lead all players in that category and record a double-double. Larissa Richards came off the bench in her first game after a four-game hiatus to score 10 points and grab six rebounds.

Though she did not score in double figures, Courtney Tate dished out a career-high 11 assists, just one shy of the school record. She also had five rebounds and a steal and was responsible for only one turnover on the day.

Pitt State put together its best first half of the season, scoring 56 points and shooting 66.7 percent overall and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. The team had assists on 18 of its 22 made shots in the first half. The Gorillas led 56-30 at the half.

Defense and rebounding stepped up in the second half. Pitt State allowed only 18 second half Bearcat points. At the half, the Gorillas were only outrebounding Northwest by two, 21-19. PSu finished the game with a 55-36 rebounding advantage, a 34-17 advantage in the second half alone.

The Gorillas finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three-point range, while holding the Bearcats to 26 per ent overall and 17 percent from long range.

Pitt State will play the second game of the Sonic Trophy series basketball point on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Missouri Southern at 5:30 p.m.