CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? One game after it shot its way to a victory, Austin Peay State University women's basketball team had the tables turned in a 94-76 Ohio Valley Conference loss to league-leading Murray State, Saturday night, at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (13-11, 9-4 OVC) was coming off a performance that saw it shoot a season-best 58.8 percent in a victory against Tennessee Martin, Tuesday. And while the Lady Govs shot an above-average 42 percent this night, they could not keep pace with a Racer offense that was nearly unstoppable, particularly in the second half.

Murray State (15-6, 10-1) finished the night an impressive 35-of-56 (62.5 percent) from the field ? a single-game best by an OVC team this season. Moreover, it included an extraordinary 70 percent second-half performance in which the Racers converted 21 of their 30 field goals attempts.

The first half was nip-and-tuck nearly the entire way with the two squads exchanging the lead 17 times. Austin Peay suffered through a 7:43 field-goal drought which began at the halfway point, but Murray State scored just eight points in the same span to take a one-point, 24-23, lead at the 3:52 mark. MSU got baskets on two of its final three possessions to take a 36-32 lead into halftime.

Murray State dominated the second half, using a 13-4 half-opening run to build a double-digit lead, 49-36, at the 16:45 mark. But it was a later 16-6 run that pushed the lead to 19 points, 73-54, with 7:12 remaining and the Racers would not be threatened again.

Austin Peay saw senior April Thomas and sophomore Ashley Herring each reach the 20-point plateau. Thomas had 20 points and 12 rebounds for her season's ninth double-double. Herring recovered from a foul-limited six point first half to lead the Lady Govs with 21 points. However, no other Lady Govs player reached double-digit scoring territory.

Senior Ashley Hayes scored a game-high 36 points, three days after a school-record 46-point performance at Tennessee State and those two performances are the top two single game performances in the OVC this season. Senior Amber Guffey added 25 points and senior Paige Guffey chipped in 19 points.

Austin Peay returns to action in one week when it hosts Tennessee State in a 3 p.m., Saturday contest. The Lady Govs invite their fans to wear pink to that contest in recognition of the Women Basketball Coaches Association's Pink Zone initiative to fight breast cancer.

-AP-