PSU holds off late charge by SBU for win

With 5 minutes remaining on the game clock, it looked as if the Pittsburg State women would hold its fifth consecutive opponent at Whetzel Court/John Lance Arena to under 50 points.

Pitt State led Southwest Baptist 58-40 at the 4:52 mark but then Southwest Baptist freshman Brook Duncan caught fire from 3-point range (three 3s down the stretch) and in foul mode every defensive possession for the final 3 minutes, Southwest Baptist extended the game.

“What a great job team defense,” Pitt State head coach Lane Lord said. “Philosophy today was to do a lot of switching and because they didn’t have a true post player, their 4s and 5s could really shoot the 3. I thought we did a good job on them most of the game. To our kids’ credit, they held ‘em to about 24 percent until about the last 5 or 6 minutes. We did a great job and made a few free throws when we needed.”

The Bearcats fell short 74-61 on Saturday as the Gorillas won their second consecutive home game after losing three straight road games.

“It’s a crazy league,” Lord said. “A lot of highs, a lot of lows. It’s just good to be home. One game in a month that we were home and that was Hays. Our kids are excited, it’s fun to have them have smiles on their faces again and enjoy playing. That losing stinks and hopefully, we can continue to carry some momentum at home. We’ve got another home game coming up against Northeastern. We feed off the crowd, they do a great job . . . it’s a lot better than a week ago.”

The Gorillas made a philosophical change in their game at halftime of the Washburn game last Saturday: go inside first and concentrate on working the ball into 6-foot-6 senior post Lauren Brown and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association leading scorer Lizzy Jeronimus.

“We didn’t get Lauren involved as quite as early as we hoped,” Lord said. “They did a great job double-teaming her. They were there on the catch and Lauren made some good passes out. Once we touched the post, we usually seem to make more 3s and the basketball gods shined down on us when we do that. They shone down on Alexa (Bordewick) today.”

Jeronimus started out fast Saturday: she netted the first eight Pitt State points and scored 14 first-half points en route to a game-high 20. No. 42 added six rebounds, five assists (two turnovers, 2.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio) and two steals.

Four other Gorilla players finished with at least nine points: Alexa Bordewick 14, Kylie Gafford 10, Brigit Hesser 10 and Morgan Westhoff nine.

Bordewick (playing with a broken nose) tied a career-high with four 3-point goals — back-to-back 3s in the first half gave PSU a 21-14 lead and her two in the second half gave PSU 50-38 and 63-48 leads.

Gafford scored five points in each half to finish with her 10 and she led Pitt State with two blocked shots. Hesser proved most effective at the foul line with 6-6 shooting. Westhoff scored the first non-Jeronimus points for the Gorillas and found her success more in the mid-range game.

Southwest Baptist junior Jacqui Zelenka led the Bearcats with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. She matched her season high in rebounds and she proved a dangerous shooter from 3-point land and at the foul stripe — 3-4 from deep and 4-4 at the foul line.

Duncan, a bench player who plays starter’s minutes, delivered 18 points on 5-8 3-point shooting. She especially thrived at the top of the key and she made the Gorillas pay when they were slow closing on her. With top speed defender Y’Cedria Devers dinged up and on the bench after a collision in the second half, Pitt State was not as strong with its perimeter defense.

Brittney Dukes came through with 10 points, three rebounds, eight assists (five turnovers) and two steals for the Bearcats.

Pitt State improved to 14-7 overall, 8-5 MIAA and remained in a sixth-place tie with Fort Hays State, which defeated Nebraska-Kearney 87-63 on Saturday. The Gorillas own the head-to-head edge over Fort Hays.

In other MIAA games Saturday, Central Oklahoma defeated Lincoln 88-79 (ending a 10-game losing streak), Northeastern State defeated Truman State 46-44, Emporia State blew out Lindenwood 85-54, Washburn defeated Northwest Missouri 64-53 and Central Missouri defeated Missouri Southern 74-63. Central Missouri, Northeastern State, Emporia State and Truman State have joined Washburn as teams to clinch spots in the MIAA Tournament.

Emporia State won its seventh consecutive game with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals from senior Rachel Hanf, who has been playing at a high level during the winning streak. Frontenac native Emily Barto added four points, two rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes.

Fort Hays won its fourth straight behind 24 points from Paige Lunsford (behind five 3s) and 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks from sophomore post Kate Lehman. Katelyn Edwards added 12 points, six boards and six assists.

Central Missouri and Washburn have won six consecutive games.