MURRAY, Ky. - Twenty-point
outings by junior Ashley Herring and sophomore Whitney Hanley led Austin Peay
State University women's basketball team to a 76-72 Ohio Valley Conference
victory against Murray State, Saturday night, at the Regional Special Events
Center.
Unlike its slow start
two days previously in a loss at Tennessee Martin, Austin Peay (9-15, 8-5 OVC) broke
out quickly against Murray State and built a 23-10 lead in the opening 10
minutes. The Lady Govs made eight of their first 14 field goals in building the
lead.
Murray State (10-13,
5-7) slowly chipped away at the lead the rest of the half and Austin Peay
helped along the way committing eight of its 14 turnovers in the final 10
minutes. The Racers closed the half with a 15-8 run over the final 9:53 to
slash the Lady Govs lead to six points, 31-25, at halftime.
Neither team made much
headway through the second half's opening eight minutes with Austin Peay still
leading by six points, 45-39, at the 12:12 mark.
Murray State finally
put together an 11-4 charge over the next three-plus minutes to take its first
lead of the game, 50-49, with 8:57 remaining. The two teams would trade the lead
three times and battle through four ties over the next seven minutes.
It wasn't until
freshman Meghan Bussabarger hit her first three-pointer at the 1:31 mark that
Austin Peay regained the lead for good, 71-68. She would help solidify the
advantage on the Lady Govs next trip with a free-throw line jumper. Austin Peay
closed the game by making three of four free throws to set the final margin.
Herring and Hanley
became the first APSU duo to score 20 points in the same game this season. Sophomore
Jasmine Rayner tied a career high with 17 rebounds and added 14 points for her
season's sixth double-double. Junior Brooke Faulkner handed out a career-high
seven assists, the most by an APSU player this season.
Murray State's Kayla
Vance led all scorers with 23 points. Mallory Luckett added 10 points and 11
assists.
Austin Peay closes out
its current three-game road trip with a 5:30 p.m., Saturday contest at
Tennessee State.
- AP -
