Pittsburg State women’s basketball upset in NCAA Division II quarterfinals

The Grand Valley State women’s basketball team continued its improbable run through the NCAA Division II tournament, defeating the Pittsburg State Gorillas 59-56 in the Elite Eight on Tuesday night at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Gorillas end their season with a 29-6 record.

The win was Grand Valley State’s (26-9) fourth straight against a team seeded higher than it. This marks the Lakers’ first appearance in the national semifinal since they won the Division II national championship in 2006.

For most of the night, the Lakers shut down what both head coaches termed an incredible offense. Pitt State shot just 34.5 percent on the night, including 28 percent from beyond the arc.

“(Grand Valley State) played outstanding defense,” said Gorillas head coach Lane Lord. “We are an outstanding offensive team, and they really took us out of a lot of things we want to do. All the credit goes to Grand Valley.”

Pitt State came out sluggish, hitting on just 4-of-18 shots and trailing 16-10 nine minutes into the game. But the Gorillas made five of their next six shots as part of a 14-2 that stretched into the second quarter.

The Lakers countered with a 7-0 run of their own, and after trading buckets for several minutes, Grand Valley State forward Piper Tucker hit a buzzer-beating three to give the Lakers a 33-30 lead going into halftime.

All-American guard and Pitt State’s leading scorer, Mikaela Burgess, failed to score in the first half, missing all four of her shots. It wasn’t until the 5:22 mark of the third quarter that she finally got on the board with a driving layup.

Lord said the Lakers were able to shut Burgess down with tight closeouts and by collapsing gaps to prevent her from driving to the basket, which she thrives off of.

The teams traded baskets for all of the third quarter and much of the fourth. With 1:36 remaining in the game, Burgess hit a three on the left wing to put the Gorillas on top 56-55 and force a timeout —their first lead since the 1:24 mark of the second quarter.

“We just said, ‘it’s done,’” Grand Valley State head coach Mike Williams said of the timeout. “We said, ‘here’s the next play.’ We talked about being in the moment — get a score then come back and get a stop.”

That’s precisely what happened.

Bailey Cairnduff gave Grand Valley State the lead right back with a bucket. After Burgess was called for a charge and Pitt State got a stop on the other end, the Gorillas had the ball down one with 36 seconds left.

But Taylor Parmley came up huge on the final possession. She stripped Burgess at midcourt, and after getting fouled on a layup attempt, sunk two free throws.

“I was just trying to go for the ball, trying not to foul,” said Parmley. “Taylor (Lutz) played great (help) defense and allowed me to go get that steal.”

Cathy Brugman’s desperation three on the final possession was well off, and Grand Valley State held on for the win.

Burgess led the Gorillas with 13 points. Brugman added 12 points and five rebounds. Parmley tallied a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double for Grand Valley State.

The Lakers will face the University of Alaska Anchorage Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. with a chance to advance to the Division II national championship game on the line. The Seawolves (37-2) crushed seventh-seeded Francis Marion, 79-55, to reach the Final Four.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Pittsburg State women’s basketball upset in NCAA Division II quarterfinals."