CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay women's
basketball team ends its three-game homestand when it hosts Tennessee State in
a 5:15 p.m., Saturday, Ohio Valley Conference contest at the Dunn Center. The
game also is the Lady Govs "Pink Zone" contest as part of the WBCA's cancer
awareness initiative.
The Lady Govs are unbeaten during
their current homestand, posting a 69-59 victory against Murray State, last
Saturday, for its second straight win. Austin Peay used a strong defensive
effort to hold Murray State to 31 percent shooting, including just 23 percent
from three-point range. Offensively, the Lady Govs saw five players score 10 or
more points for the first time this season.
Junior Whitney Hanley led that
offensive charge with 19 points and seven rebounds, leading the team in both
categories for the second consecutive game. The Lady Govs forwards enjoyed the
night as sophomore Meghan Bussabarger (12 points), junior Jasmine Rayner (10)
and senior Dalila Thomas (10) each reached double-digits. Senior Brooke Faulkner chipped in 10 points.
Tennessee State has won two of its
last three outings, including an 81-71 non-conference victory against SIU
Edwardsville, Tuesday. The Lady Tigers won the game at the free-throw line
where they posted an impressive 28-of-35 (80 percent) effort while the Cougars
made 16-of-24 (66.7 percent). The Lady Tigers split their two conference games
last week, defeating Murray State (73-70) before falling to UT Martin (64-70).
Austin Peay won the season's first
meeting between the two teams, a 60-45 decision on Jan. 15 in Nashville. The
Lady Govs used a 19-3 second-half run to build a comfortable lead with six
minutes remaining. During that stretch APSU's defense limited Tennessee State
to 1-of-8 shooting while forcing seven turnovers.
Bussabarger led the Lady Govs with a
12-point, 10-rebound double-double effort. Foster led Tennessee State with her
own 13-point, 11-rebound double-double performance.
KEY NOTABLES FROM
LADY GOVS
vs. MURRAY STATE
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Whitney Hanley picked up where she left off
Thursday night scoring and rebounding as she again led the Lady Govs with 17
points and seven rebounds.
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For the first time this season, five Lady
Govs scored in double figures in the same game: Hanley 19, Rayner 12 , Faulkner
10 , Thomas 10, Bussabarger 12
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Nicole Olszewski scored just six points, but
again filled in the box score in other areas, finishing with seven rebounds and
a team-best four assists.
-
The Lady Govs trailed for a total of 55
seconds in the contest. They never trailed in the first half and only briefly
lost the lead twice in the second half.
-
The Lady Govs shot 82 percent from the free-throw line on 19-of-23 shooting. It was their best effort at the line since an
83-percent outing at UAB (Jan. 2). The Racers also shot well from the line,
shooting 87.5 percent (14-of-16) on the night
-
For the ninth-straight game the Lady Govs
grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds, but scored just nine second-chance
points
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The 11 turnovers committed by the Lady Govs
were their fewest since committing only nine at Pittsburgh (Dec. 28).
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Austin Peay forced Murray State into 16
turnovers and scored 17 points off those miscues.
NEXT UP: JACKSONVILLE
STATE
Austin Peay begins its final
regular-season road trip when it travels to Jacksonville State for a 7 p.m.,
Thursday contest. The Lady Govs won their third consecutive game in the series
with a 65-54 victory, Jan. 22. Austin Peay holds an 11-6 advantage in the
all-time series but is just 3-5 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
NEXT CARRIE DANIELS
SHOW, FEB. 23
The Carrie Daniels Show will take next week off due to the team's travel to Jacksonville State. It will return with a 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 23 show live from Edwards Steakhouse on Franklin Street in Clarksville. Hosted by Brian Rives for the third consecutive season, the show will air live on WVRY 105.1 FM and be simulcast over the internet at LetsGoPeay.com.
