No. 20 Gorillas Rally Comes Up Just Short in Loss to Jennies - KOAM TV 7

No. 20 Gorillas Rally Comes Up Just Short in Loss to No. 15 Jennies

WARRENSBURG, Mo. — The Pittsburg State women's basketball team nearly overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to No. 15 Central Missouri before falling, 70-67, Saturday (Jan. 12) at the UCM Multipurpose Building.

Lizzy Jeronimus led the Gorillas with 16 points. Morgan Westhoff and Kylie Gafford came off the bench to score 11 points apiece. Drew Roberts hit a pair of late 3-pointers to finish with 10 points. Lauren Brown led the Gorillas with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Brown also tallied five points.

A three-point play by Jeronimus with 8:00 left in the game cut the UCM lead to 51-50. The three-point swing kept the game close the rest of the way. The Jennies were able to maintain the lead, but they were never able to put the Gorillas away as two late 3-point baskets by Roberts and another from Westhoff kept the game close down the stretch.

Pitt State shot .407 (24-59) from the floor, including .320 (8-25) from distance and .688 (11-16) from the foul line. The Jennies were able to convert the 17 PSU turnovers into 19 points, while the Gorillas only managed seven points off the 13 Central Missouri miscues. The two squads both finished with 40 rebounds.

During the first half the first half the Gorillas led by as many as eight before the Jennies were able to put together a run to give them a 32-30 lead at intermission.

The Gorillas continue a three-game road swing Wednesday (Jan. 16) when Pitt State travels to Joplin, Mo., to face Missouri Southern. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (CST) at MSSU's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.