photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Eudora senior Harper Schreiner drives to the basket in the state 4A Girls Championship game on March 12, 2022 in Salina.

Former Eudora point guard Harper Schreiner and the Pittsburg State Gorillas are in the Final Four of the Division II women’s basketball tournament.

Schreiner, a junior for the Gorillas, was the 2022 Kansas 4A Player of the Year, leading the Eudora Cardinals to the state championship before losing to Bishop Miege. She graduated as one of three Cardinals to score 1,000 career points and averaged 18.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game in her final season.

Schreiner started her freshman year at point guard and has continued to start in every game for the team. She averaged 10.3 points per game as a freshman and has averaged 7.6 as a sophomore and 6.9 as a junior. Schreiner has increased her assists per game each year from 4.1 as a freshman to now 4.5 as a junior. As a shooter, she is making 3-pointers at her highest clip at 41% while shooting 47% from the field on a little over five attempts per game.

Pittsburg State is 16th in Division II in assists per game, and Schreiner leads the team. The Gorillas are also seventh in scoring offense with 80.4 per game. The Grand Valley State Lakers, whom the Gorillas will play in the Final Four on Wednesday, are third in Division II in scoring offense at 83.7 points per game and seventh in scoring defense, allowing 52.3 points per game. The Lakers’ scoring margin of 31.4 points per game is best in Division II, while the Gorillas are ninth at 16.1.

The Gorillas are 33-3 this year and were both the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular-season and tournament champions. The Gorillas avenged an earlier loss to Fort Hays State in the championship game, winning 82-72. After the conference tournament, the Gorillas won the central region with wins over Harding, Minnesota State-Mankato and Southwest Minnesota State. Schreiner had 14 points and 13 assists across the three regional games.

The team is on a nine-game win streak and defeated Lubbock Christian 66-55 in the Elite Eight, which was only the third time in program history reaching the quarterfinal round.

The semifinal matches begin on Wednesday, and No. 4 Pittsburg State will face No. 1 Grand Valley State at 7:30 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a chance at the national championship game.