CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team broke a three-game losing streak with a 79-66 victory against Ball State, Saturday, at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (2-5) won its second-straight home game in wire-to-wire fashion and led an understaffed Ball State squad by double-digits for the final 16:45. Senior forward Meghan Bussabarger scored a season-high tying 20 points to lead four Lady Govs players in double digits. Senior guard Leslie Martinez came off the bench for the first time and posted an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double - Austin Peay's first this season.

The Lady Govs scored the game's first seven points in the opening three minutes. However, Ball State was able to close back within a point, 9-8 with 11:02 left in the first, as Austin Peay made one field goal over the next six minutes.

Austin Peay used a 11-2 run over the next five minutes to build its first double-digit advantage, 20-10 with 6:55 left, as five different APSU shooters scored. Ball State did not go away and closed to within seven with 57 seconds left, but Austin Peay scored four points in four seconds thanks to a Martinez jumper and a steal and a basket by freshman Tiasha Gray and led 32-21 at the break.

Ball State (2-6) opened the second half with a 7-2 run and forced an Austin Peay timeout less than two minutes into the period. The timeout did the trick as the Lady Govs scored on their next two possessions, pushing the lead to 11 points.

The Cardinals made one last attempt to close the gap and were within eight points, 52-44, after Nathalie Fontaine's layup with 12:24 left. But that was as close as Ball State would get. Austin Peay broke the game open with a 9-2 run, punctuated by a pair of Bussabarger three-pointers, to push the lead to 17 points, 63-46, with 8:30 remaining and did not look back.

Freshman Jennifer Nwokocha added a 10-point, six-rebound effort and Gray chipped in 11 points and three steals to join Bussabarger and Martinez in double-digit scoring territory.

Brittany Carter led a seven-woman Ball State squad with 14 points. Fontaine added 13 points and Katie Murphy finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Austin Peay returns to action with an early 11 a.m., Tuesday contest at Middle Tennessee.