#10 Lopers End the Year 28-5; Special Super Senior Class Bows Out
Kearney, Neb. – Sophomore Grace Pyle scored 30 points, including the first 16 for her team, and Pittsburg State started the second quarter on a big run to beat Nebraska Kearney, 74-54, in an NCAA Tournament first round game Friday afternoon in Duluth, Minn. This contest was part of the Central Regional with the seventh-seeded Gorillas (23-7) advancing to face rival and third-seeded Missouri Southern State (28-6) tomorrow in the second round. The Lions rallied from 12 down in the fourth quarter to slip past Augustana, 75-74, in the day's first game. "Congratulations to Pitt State. They played really well today and deserve to advance. Had a couple of kids that really shoot it well and Grace (Pyle) played as well as I've seen her play all year," said UNK head coach Carrie Eighmey. "Grace really opened the floor for them. She was shooting from way deep. Anytime you have a player that can do that, the floor gets really big. With a team that runs dribble drive like they do, you don't want the floor to be big." The second-seeded and 10th-ranked Lopers (28-5) couldn't rally like the Lions as Pitt was hot from the jump. The Gorillas, who lost 70-55 and 70-67 to UNK during the regular season, jetted out to a 20-13 first quarter lead and then scored 18 of the first 20 points in the second. Pyle, the 2020 Kansas Class 5A Player of the Year for McPherson High, was simply unconscious against the nationally-ranked Loper defense. She hit her first six shots from the field to give the Gorillas a 16-8 lead. "Typically, they stretch the floor with Tristan Gregg. We did a decent job on Tristian but Grace came out guns a blazing and really hit some deep shots," said Eighmey. "So, then we're getting out to contest those shots but then she's getting outside of our feet and creating for other people. UNK came in allowing 51 points per game and had limited Pitt to 9 of 45 three-point shooting during the regular season. Today, the Gorillas scored the most points by a Loper opponent this year in shooting 47% from the field and connecting on 11 of 15 triples. They also out rebounded UNK by three. "Unfortunately for us we didn't play our best basketball today. We struggled to get some stops early and offensively we couldn't get into a rhythm," said Eighmey. "And clearly we didn't shoot the ball well from the three-point line. We had good open looks but weren't able to knock them down." Pyle, averaging 14 points per game, had 23 by the break and reached her final tally by making 12 of 19 shots (6 of 10 threes) and 4 of 4 free throws. She also had four rebounds in 28 minutes of work. Next, six-foot sophomore Karenna Gerber had 15 points, nine caroms and three blocks with six others between two and nine points. After shooting a season-low 31.1% in a loss to Missouri Southern last Saturday night in the MIAA Tournament semis, UNK came in at 33.9% today. They were just 4 of 25 from long range and also went 8 of 12 at the line. The Lopers did trim the deficit to 59-45 early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to get closer. However, a missed shot and turnover gave the ball back to the Gorillas who promptly scored the next four. "Defensively it didn't look like us out there. Super proud of our team and our body of work throughout the year. Although we didn't play well today, they've been phenomenal all season. We won a regular season title which is one of the most difficult things to do, especially in the MIAA," said Eighmey. Super seniors Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) and Brooke Carlson (Elkhorn) had 10 points apiece to pace the Lopers with classmate Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) almost recording her 24th double double (10 rebounds, seven points). Fellow super senior Maegan Holt (Council Bluffs, Ia.) hit a triple in her final collegiate performance as well. Finally, redshirt junior guard Trinity Law (Brandon, S.D.) had eight points off the bench. UNK's super senior class helped restore the tradition of the program to the tune of 116 wins, three NCAA appearances, four 20-win seasons, one MIAA regular season title (2023), one MIAA tournament title (2021) and a slew of individual and team records. Forward Shiloh McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) is a part of that group but will be back in 2023-24 as she missed one year due to injury. "They are leaving it much better than they found it," said Eighmey. "We have some many incredible women that will be successful in life."
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