CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Austin Peay State University women's basketball team will face Duke in the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship's first round, the NCAA announced, Monday. The Lady Govs and Blue Devils will meet in an approximate 1:30 p.m. (CDT), Sunday contest in East Lansing, Mich.

The Lady Govs (17-15) earned the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid after winning three games in the league's tournament.After being picked to finish ninth in the league's preseason poll, Austin Peay finished tied for fifth in the regular season. It enters the NCAA Championship with a four-game win streak, including three wins in the OVC tournament ? becoming the first fifth seed to win the championship. The Lady Govs are one of Division I's most improved programs, improving by 11 victories after finishing the 2007-08 campaign with a 6-23 record.

Duke (26-5) was selected as an at-large team from the Atlantic Coast Conference after losing in the ACC championship game to fellow No. 1 seed Maryland. The Blue Devils own eight wins against ranked opposition this season, downing Stanford, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida State, Oklahoma St., and two wins against Virginia. The is the second straight 20-win season under head coach Joanne McCallie, following a 25-10 record in her first year at Duke.

Individually, the two clubs are led by seniors. Austin peay is led by senior April Thomas, the OVC Tournament's "Most Valuable Player" and second-team All-OVC selection. She is averaging 13.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and averaged a double-double ? 17.2 points and 10.3 rebounds ? in the season's final 10 games. Duke has been led by senior Chante Black, who was recently named the ACC's "Defensive Player of the Year" and was a first team All-ACC honoree.  She also is a Naismith, John R. Wooden and State Farm Wade Trophy candidate for National Player of the Year and is averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists on the year. 

For the seventh consecutive year, the ESPN networks will combine to present all 63 games from the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. During the first two rounds, ESPN and ESPN2 will present the 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN360.com will offer complete game telecasts of all 63 games, while ESPNU will offer select ESPN and ESPN2 early-round games in their entirety.

Quotes from Austin Peay head coach Carrie Daniels:

On being paired with No. 1 Duke:
“I'm very excited. When I first saw we were playing Duke, my first thought was that they had played Western Kentucky and that would help us out in our scouting. We knew that the odds of us being a 16-seed were great, and that's okay, because we're in the tournament. We're going to go get prepared and go fight for 40 minutes.”

On how the Lady Govs will prepare:
I don't think we'll change anything. We're going to keep practicing the way we have and keep our focus on ourselves. Obviously, we're going to watch some film and become familiar with their personnel. I know they've got some great three-point shooters. Again though, our focus has to be on what we can control and that's us; where we need to be on the floor, what we need to defend and how can best execute each offensive possession.