CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team jumped out a 13-point halftime lead and held on, posting a 70-60 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Eastern Kentucky, Sunday afternoon, at the Dunn Center.

Senior Darcie Warner was the first half's star, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 field goal shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Her effort helped the Lady Govs overcome slow starts by its two leading scorers - junior Whitney Hanley and sophomore Meghan Bussabarger - who combined for just four points.

Austin Peay's (3-9, 2-1 OVC) defense also helped secure the first half lead, holding Eastern Kentucky to one field goal in the opening 12:14 while forcing 10 turnovers. The Lady Govs raced out to a 19-5 lead in that span and carried a 32-19 advantage into halftime.

Eastern Kentucky (4-6, 1-2 OVC) would challenge Austin Peay in the second half, and pieced together a 19-8 run over 8:49 that narrowed the deficit to three points, 47-44, with 8:26 remaining. But the Lady Govs scored six of the next seven points on three-point field goals by freshman Nicole Olszewski and Bussabarger to end the threat. Olszewski would seal the victory by making seven of eight at the free throw line in the final minute.

Olszewski led the Lady Govs with 18 points despite a 3-of-12 effort from the field - all three field goals were three-pointers. Warner finished with 17 points and junior forward Jasmine Rayner chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.

Austin Peay won the rebounding battle by a decisive 47-29 margin, including 22 offensive rebounds that APSU turned into 19 points. Senior Dalila Thomas led APSU with 11 rebounds.

Eastern Kentucky's Brittany Coles led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds, scoring 12 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Alex Jones added 11 points.

Eastern Kentucky made 42.9 percent of its field goals - topping APSU's 32.8 percent from the field - but managed just 42 attempts as they committed 22 turnovers and lost the rebounding battle.

Austin Peay concludes its four-game homestand with a 5:15 p.m., Tuesday, OVC contest against Morehead State.

-AP-