Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Senior All-American forward Lizzy Jeronimus had a big second half and senior reserve Morgan Westhoff made five three pointers to help 4th-ranked Pittsburg State hold off Nebraska Kearney, 86-73, Thursday night at the Health & Sports Center.
 
Pitt improves to 17-2 (7-2) while the Lopers (10-8, 5-5) four-game win streak comes to an end.
 
The Gorillas came in as one of the MIAA's top defensive teams, holding teams to 57 points per game and 37% shooting from the field. Hanging around all night, UNK topped those numbers thanks to 48.0% shooting, including a 7 of 12 effort from behind the arc.
 
Jeronimus, a 5-11 lefty, was just 2 of 6 from the field in the first half but tallied 19 second half points by sinking 7 of 9 shots. Also having six rebounds, five assists and three steals, she had 14 points in the final 8:24, helping Pitt move a 10-point lead into a 17-point cushion.
 
UNK trailed for the final 33 minutes but kept the deficit under 13 points until the late explosion by Jerionmus. And every time the Lopers made a run, the Gorillas seemingly hit a three pointer to stop the momentum.
 
Averaging 5.5 made three per game, Pitt was 10 of 28 from downtown tonight with Westhoff going 5 of 10. Showing off its depth, the rest of the Gorilla bench was 3 of 9 on long range shots.
 
"Their non-starters are all shooters. We knew going in we would have to find their shooters and we didn't do a good job of that," said UNK head coach Kevin Chaney. "Every time we would make a run, they would find that open shooter and get a big three. Good teams knock down those open shots."
 
Pitt also forced 18 Loper turnovers and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. Besides Jeronimus and Westhoff, nine others scored as the Gorilla bench tallied 41 points.
 
Working around some first half foul trouble, South Dakota sophomore post Kelsey Fitzgerald tied her career-high of 21 points by going 8 of 14 from the field and 5 of 7 at the line. She also had seven defensive rebounds and a block.
 
Next, Trenton junior Laramey Lewis had 11 of her 13 points in the second half and threw in a team-high four assists. Finally, backcourt mate McKenzie Brown (Grand Island) hit three triples to end with 16 points.
 
UNK hosts South Dakota Mines in a non-league game tomorrow night