The women’s basketball team exits the regular season with a win against Nebraska-Kearney (69-59) Thursday, Feb. 28, and a loss to Fort Hays State (62-67) Saturday, March 2.
Head coach Amanda Davied believes the team played well against Nebraska-Kearney.
“I thought versus Kearney we came out really aggressive the first half and had a good start to the first half,” Davied said. “Then the second half we… knew they were going to come at us… At the end, Maya Williams made some really big plays to get us going and to finish out the win.”
Despite losing to Fort Hays, Davied is proud of the team’s effort.
“I thought the girls really battled against Fort Hays and we got off to a tough start that first quarter but outscored them and… the girls just never gave us,” Davied said. “I was really proud of the effort they displayed today.”
Several players stood out to Davied during the matches.
“I thought Maya Williams did a great job offensively and defensively,” Davied said. “I thought the post players did an excellent job on their post players, held them without a field goal. I thought Tristan Gegg did an outstanding job coming in. She had 15 points in 15 minutes… Megan Maher played just a great overall game. She was active on both ends of the floor and… was just really active defensively… I just thought that she really brought a lot of energy to that game against Kearney.”
According to Davied, the team has grown a lot during this season.
“I think we have really grown into accepting our roles and complimenting each other,” Davied said. “Drivers being drivers, shooters being shooter and allowing each other to compliment each other well in those roles. So, I feel like our freshman have continued to get more and more confident as the season went on. To finish 21-7, (with) a lot of those losses coming from the top teams in the league that we play against in the Kansas side, I just think we really matured and learned a lot through the season about our team and the MIAA and how tough it is. The girls never backed down to anybody and they have got really big wins against Central Missouri, Emporia State… I am extremely proud of the leadership of Shelby Lopez and Morgan Brody.”
Davied believes the team has come together over the course of the season and is proud of everything the team achieved.
“I think that we have a lot of new people,” Davied said. “Seven new people and three people on the coaching staff that are all in new positions, so I think that we learned a lot as we went. I think we really developed some really good relationships within our program and I think that is what it is about besides winning, which this team has done, is a great accomplishment. I think whenever you can get along and really enjoy the people you are around every day, it speaks a lot about the group that we have. I am just really proud of them overall for the effort that they brought everyday and the energy that they brought… I am obviously really proud of the way they have represented their school always (with) a lot of school pride and lot of heart and I think with just great representation of Pittsburg State.”
The Gorillas will advance to the 2019 MIAA Postseason Tournament at Kansas City, Missouri, with a match against Lindenwood Friday, March 8.