CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Senior Ashlee McGee's layup with two seconds remaining fell just short as Austin Peay State University women's basketball team suffered a 70-69 loss at Tennessee State in Ohio Valley Conference action, Monday night.

The game was a tight battle throughout as the two teams combined for 18 lead changes and six ties over the course of 40 minutes, including four lead changes and a tie in the final 2:30. Neither team led by more than eight points, that being Tennessee State's eight-point margin in the early in the first half. Austin Peay led by as many as seven points, the last time with 17:30 remaining in the second.

Freshman Ashley Herring led Austin Peay with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior April Thomas added 15 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman Alex Bivens finished with 14 points ? her best scoring output since Dec. 8 against Eastern Kentucky. Senior Ashlee McGee improved her standing atop the league's assist chart, dishing out nine assists to go along with six rebounds and four steals.

Junior Obiageli Okafor led Tennessee State with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Kendra Appling added a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double effort. Charisse Hicks added 14 points and Tiffany Jackson chipped in 10 points.

Austin Peay made a season-high 28 field goals and had its best shooting performance in five games, making 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field. Part of that was a season-high tying eight three-point field goals, part of a 57.1 percent (8-of-14) attack from outside the arc.

However, Tennessee State countered that offensive performance with an insurmountable 21-of-36 performance at the free-throw line, which easily outpaced Austin Peay's 5-of-9 free-throw effort. The Lady Tigers also crashed the boards to a 49-36 advantage, but could not convert their 21-11 offensive rebounding edge into anything more than a 17-11 margin in second-chance points.

Austin Peay returns to action when it closes out its home schedule with a 5:15 p.m., Saturday, contest against Tennessee Tech. The Lady Govs five seniors ? McGee, Kellea Reeves, Keri Reese, Amber Bacon and Megan Anderson ? will be recognized following the contest.

-AP-