CLARKSVILLE - On the night she was recognized for reaching the 1,000-point plateau, junior Ashley Herring scored a season-high 28 points to lead Austin Peay State University women's basketball team to a 75-71 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Jacksonville State, Thursday night at the Dunn Center.

Herring, who was the 13th Lady Govs player to record 1,000 points, scored her 28 points on 9-of-14 field goal shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. However, it was her four free throws in the final 14 seconds that helped secure the victory.

Austin Peay (10-16, 9-6 OVC) led by 10 points with four minutes remaining. But Jacksonville State starting driving to the basket and inducing Austin Peay fouls, JSU scoring six consecutive points off free-throws. A layup by the Gamecocks Danielle Beneby with 23 seconds left cut the APSU lead to two points, 71-69.

Herring was fouled on the ensuing in-bounds play and made both her free throws. But the Lady Govs committed a foul after a rebound, and JSU's Destiny Lane converted both her attempts. Herring was fouled prior to the next in-bounds play and - after a lengthy discussion about the game clock - sank both her free throws to seal the win.

Jacksonville State (8-18, 5-11) bounced back from an 11-point first-half deficit to trail by one point, 36-35, at halftime. The Gamecocks opened the second half with a 9-2 run to build their largest lead, 44-38, with 17:24 remaining. However, the Lady Govs battled back with a 19-8 burst over the next seven minutes to retake the lead for good, 57-52, with 10:23 left.

Besides Herring's game-high output, senior Nicole Jamen added her season's ninth double-double - a 15-point, 11-rebound performance. Sophomore Jasmine Rayner added 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior Darcie Warner and freshman Meghan Bussabarger grabbed seven and six rebounds, respectively, both career highs.

Austin Peay outrebounded Jacksonville State by a 47-29 margin, turning its 16 offensive rebounds into 19 points.

Beneby led Jacksonville State with 20 points, making 6-of-12 from the field and all eight of her free-throw attempts. Brittany Wiley added 14 points.

Austin Peay - which clinched a berth into the upcoming OVC tournament with Thursday's win - will close out the home portion of its regular-season schedule when it hosts Tennessee Tech in a 5:15 p.m., Saturday contest.

- AP -