CLARKSVILLE - Freshman guard Shira Buley scored eight points in overtime and junior forward Leslie Martinez posted her third career double-double to lead Austin Peay State University women's basketball past Morehead State, 88-81 in overtime, in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Dunn Center.

Buley was instrumental in the Lady Govs victory, scoring five consecutive points in overtime to break the game open. It was the final three points of a wild stretch that shifted the game's momentum completely.  

Freshman guard Shelby Olszewski grabbed a rebound after a missed Morehead State shot. She then threw the ball wildly down court to Meghan Bussabarger who was caught between running the court and returning back to help her teammate when the ball was thrown.

Bussabarger hustled down the court and corralled the errant pass but her layup attempt rolled off the back of the rim and away from her. Yet there the ball found a darting Buley who gathered it up and put it back for the basket and a foul. She converted the resulting free throw and gave APSU its largest lead of the contest - an 85-78 advantage it would not relinquish.

Morehead State (9-17, 6-8 OVC) controlled the first half action. An Ashar Harris layup with 10:23 remaining capped a 6-0 Eagles run and gave the visitors a 26-16 lead - it's largest of the contest.  Austin Peay would keep the lead from growing larger and later countered with its own 9-0 run to take a 39-37 lead with 1:32 remaining after senior guard Whitney Hanley's jumper. Morehead State tied the game on its next possession thanks to a pair of Courtney Lumpkin free throws and neither team scored in the final minute, settling on a 39-39 halftime score.

Austin Peay (7-20, 4-10 OVC) led for all but the final 1:30 of the second half, but was unable to build more than a six point lead. The Lady Govs led by three points after Hanley made a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining. However, Morehead State found Courtney Lumpkin who made a three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to tie the game. Hanley had one final try to win the game in regulation but her jumper circled the rim twice before falling out, sending the game to overtime.

Buley finished with a career-high 10 points, making 3-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Martinez posted career-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (14) for her season's third double-double. Hanley added 22 points - her 14th 20-point outing this season - and sophomore center Kaitlyn Hill chipped in 13 points.

Austin Peay used an impressive 27-of-34 performance at the free-throw line to secure the victory. However, the Lady Govs also outshot the Eagles narrowly from the floor, converting 49.2 percent (30-f-61) of their shots against MSU's 48.3 percent (29-of-60).

Lumpkin finished the game with 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including a 4-of-8 effort from three-point range, to lead the Morehead State offense. She was the only MSU player to reach double digits in the scoring column.

Austin Peay returns to action when it travels to league-leading UT Martin for a 5:30 p.m., Thursday contest.

-AP-