CLARKSVILLE - Senior Whitney Hanley scored a career-high 28 points - including seven points in the final 2:27 - to lead Austin Peay State University women's basketball team to a 76-70 season-opening victory against Southern Illinois, Friday, at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (1-0) led by 11 points, 67-56, with 3:54 remaining following Hanley's lone three-point field goal.  Southern Illinois scored on its next possession, cutting the lead to nine points.

Neither team would score over the next 1:20 until the Salukis' Teri Oliver made three three-point field goals over a span of 41 seconds to tie the game, 67-67, with 2:27 remaining.

Hanley broke the tie with a basket at the 1:59 mark and Austin Peay added free throws by junior Meghan Bussabarger and senior Jasmine Rayner to push its lead to four points. Hanley bumped the lead to six points, 73-67, with her jumper at the 24-second mark.

Oliver would close the game to three points with another free-throw line three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining but Southern Illinois would get no closer, Hanley making three of her final four free throws to seal the victory.

Southern Illinois (0-1) controlled the game's opening nine minutes, leading by as many as four points. Austin Peay used a 15-4 run over a four-plus minute span to not only take its first lead, 16-15 at the 11:18 mark, but to build an eight-point, 27-19 advantage. The Salukis scored 11 of the first half's final 14 points to tie the game 34-34 at the break.

Hanley's 28-point performance came on 10-of-18 field goal shooting, including 1-of-3 from three-point range, and a 7-of-8 effort at the free-throw line. She also had seven rebounds and five assists in a 39-minute outing.

Rayner fell just shy of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Nicole Olszewski added 12 points and seven rebounds. Bussabarger tallied 11 points and junior Leslie Martinez chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

Austin Peay overcame a nine-rebound deficit in the first half to post a 41-39 rebounding edge. However, the Lady Govs won the game at the free-throw line with a 22-of-30 (73.3 percent) effort, outpacing the Salukis 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) performance at the line.

Oliver led all scorers with 32 points, making 7-of-10 from three-point range.

Austin Peay returns to action with a 7 p.m., Monday contest at Lipscomb - the first game of a four-game roadtrip.

-AP-