Honolulu, Hawaii----The number five Pittsburg State (Kan.) University women's basketball team rallied for a 66-46 NCAA Division II women's basketball victory over Wingate University in the Honolulu Holiday Classic at the Saint Francis School Gymnasium Wednesday. Wingate (4-6 overall) held the high-scoring PSU Gorillas (11-1 overall) to their second-lowest point total of the season.
 
"We played a great half against a very good team," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "I'm very proud of our effort in the first half. We shot 14.8 percent from the floor in the second half…you're not going to beat the number five team in the country when you shoot the ball that poorly."
 
For Pittsburg State, senior forward Lizzy Jeronimus (Lenexa, Kan.) posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She had 16 points and seven rebounds after intermission. PSU senior guard Brigit Hesser (Montezuma, Kan.) had 12 points.
 
"Lizzy Jeronimus is a great player," Hancock says. "She took over the second half after we had done a good job on her early in the game. The bottom line is if you don't make baskets, it's hard to win basketball games."
 
For Wingate, graduate student forward Andrea Bertrand (Midlothian, Va.) had 12 points (all in the second half). Graduate student forward Chantal Dunbar (Virginia Beach, Va.) and sophomore guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had eight points each. Dunbar flirted with a double-double, as she led the Bulldogs with eight rebounds.
 
Wingate senior guard Kelli Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C.) opened the contest with a three-point field goal. The Bulldogs and the Gorillas battled neck-and-neck until a lay-up by PSU freshman forward Elena Flott (Olpe, Kan.) gave the MIAA members their first lead at 9-8 with 13 minutes to play in the first half.
 
A lay-up by Pittsburg State freshman guard Mikaela Burgess (Webb City, Mo.) gave the Gorillas their biggest lead of the half (19-12) with 7:53 remaining. Wingate answered with a 9-0 run to go up 21-19 on a Tricoli three-point field goal at the 5:19 mark. Bulldog junior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had four points during the nine-point flurry.
 
A three-point field goal by Wingate sophomore guard Taylor Walker (Trinity, N.C.) put the Bulldogs up 27-23 with 2:13 left in the first frame. The four-point margin was Wingate's largest of the afternoon. The Bulldogs led 31-28 at intermission, thanks to eight points from Tricoli and seven points from Dunbar. PSU senior guard Antqunita Reed (Blakely, Ga.) had eight points and Jeronimus seven points for the Gorillas.
 
A short jumper from Jeronimus gave the Gorillas the lead for keeps at 36-35 with 12:53 to play in the contest. The lead-changing hoop started a 14-1 Pittsburg State run which ended with two Jeronimus free throws with seven minutes left, making the score 48-36 Gorillas. Jeronimus had eight of Pittsburg State's 14 points during the push.
 
Wingate would get no closer than 10 points down the stretch. The Bulldogs made only four field goals in the second half with only two in the final 12 minutes. Pittsburg State took a 22-point lead (66-44) on a Hesser triple with 57 seconds remaining, the Gorillas' biggest lead of the contest.
 
Pittsburg State hit 42.4 percent of its field goals (25-of-59), including a 48.1 percent clip in the second half (13-of-27). Wingate converted 28.6 percent of its shots (16-of-56); the Bulldogs shot 41.4 percent in the first half (12-of-29) and 14.8 percent in the second half (four-of-27). PSU outrebounded Wingate 40-38. Every PSU player who played more than three minutes had at least one rebound.
 
The Gorillas had 32 points in the paint, compared to 18 inside points for the Bulldogs. Wingate outscored Pittsburg State in second-chance points (15-10) and bench points (23-20). Dunbar had four steals to lead both teams. Jeronimus had three assists to top the game charts.