The Gorillas women’s team had their first games of the season this past weekend, as they look to start the season off right. The men’s team also competed and found themselves on the winning end of three out of four games to start the season. The men’s team have already played four games, while the women’s have gone 2-0 in their first starts of the season.
Starting with the women’s, the Gorillas attended the MIAA NSIC Conference Challenge this past weekend, playing Northern State and Minnesota Crookston. Pitt State defeated Northern State on Friday, winning 72-70 in overtime, before winning 82-78 on Saturday against Minnesota Crookston.
Pitt State would lead 19-13 after the first quarter but were outscored 7-18 to find themselves down 31 to 26 at halftime. The Gorillas would outscore their opponents 32 to 27 in the second half to find themselves tied at the end of regulation but led the entire overtime period to take the win in their first game of the season.
Sophomore Hannah Miller would score a career-high 20 points to lead the Gorillas, while freshman Marin Adams added 16 points and ten rebounds. Fellow freshman Cambri Phillips rounded out the Gorillas, scoring ten points and making a free throw in overtime to seal the victory.
Against the Minnesota Crookston Eagles, Pitt State battled for another close win before coming away with an 82-78 victory. The Gorillas were up by three points at halftime but were able to outscore the Eagles the rest of the way to come up with the win.
Senior guard Harper Schreiner posted a double double, scoring 19 points while adding 11 rebounds, leading the Gorillas. Sophomore guard Clara Swearingen, junior guard Ja’Miya Brown, and Adams each added 12 points in the contest. Freshman center Kaycee McCumber rounded out the high scoring Gorillas with ten points.
On the Men’s side, they started their season with a close loss to West Texas A&M, followed by a 75-53 win over Minnesota State at the D2CCA Tip Off Classic. The Gorillas followed this performance with the Central Region Challenge, hosting Sioux Falls and Minnesota State Moorhead, both wins by the Gorillas.
The Gorillas faced a 35-27 deficit in the first half of their game against West Texas but were able to outscore the Buffs 43-41 in the second to bring it close, but not enough to complete the comeback. Against Minnesota State the following day, the Gorillas dominated, outscoring the Mavericks 37-17 in the first half, and 38-36 in the second.
Pitt State would follow up this performance with a 91-76 win over Sioux Falls, outscoring them 49-39 in the first half and 42-37 in the second to win. The story would remain the same in the next day’s action when they defeated MSU Moorhead 94-74, outscoring the Dragons 45-34 in the first half and 49-40 in the second.
The men’s team will return to action on Thursday, when they host the Pitt State Classic and play Maryville University. The women will go on the road in the same evening, as they play Northwestern Oklahoma.