MARTIN, Tenn.  - Senior guard Whitney Hanley scored 20 points for the 16th time this season but it was not enough as Austin Peay State University women's basketball team dropped an 86-62 decision to newly crowned Ohio Valley Conference champion UT Martin, Thursday night, at the Elam Center.

Austin Peay  (7-21, 4-11 OVC) surrendered a game-opening 6-2 run and later a 9-0 run and found itself down by 11 points, less than seven minutes into the game. The Lady Govs would battle and eventually got the lead back to four points, 31-27, when freshman guard Shelby Olszewski banked in a three-pointer. Sophomore guard Nicole Olszewski made a basket on APSU's next possession to trim the lead to five points, 34-29, with 4:18 left but that would be the team's final score of the half.

UT Martin (20-8, 14-1 OVC), which learned it had clinched the OVC's regular-season title outright midway through the first half, closed the final 4:18 of the opening frame with a 9-0 run to build a 14-point, 43-29, halftime lead. Sophomore guard Jasmine Newsome scored seven of her 11 first-half points in the final 4:18.

The Skyhawks did not let up in the second half pushing their lead to 21 points in the opening minutes. Austin Peay broke its scoring drought 4:30 into the half when Whitney Hanley made a three-pointer. However, that eight-plus minute span without a basket doomed the Lady Govs.

UT Martin responded with a 9-2 run, sparked by Heather Butler's six points, that pushed the lead back to 23 points with 12:05 left. Austin Peay would not get closer than 20 points the game remainder.

Hanley finished with a team-best 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting before being pulled late in the second half after playing 34 minutes. Junior Meghan Bussabarger notched her season's third double-double - and first since Dec. 31 at Morehead State - with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance. Freshman Shira Buley came off the bench and posted a career-best six assists.

Newscome nearly had a triple-double to lead UTM, with a 20-point, 11-assist outing that included seven rebounds. Jaclissa Haislip added a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double performance. Sophomore Heather Butler, who was held scoreless in the first half, bounced back in the second half and finished with 18 points and eight assists.

Austin Peay returns home for a 5:15 p.m., Saturday regular-season ending contest against Southeast Missouri. That affair will essentially be a play-in contest for both teams into the upcoming OVC Women's Basketball Tournament. The winner will earn the eighth and final seed into the tournament, the loser will see their season end.

-AP-