CLARKSVILLE – A cold second half from the floor doomed Austin Peay State University women's basketball team to an 81-65 loss to SIU Edwardsville at the Dunn Center, Saturday.

Austin Peay (9-17, 6-7 OVC) maintains its hold on second place in the Ohio Valley Conference's West Division after Eastern Illinois fell at Murray State in Saturday action. SIU Edwardsville moves to 10-13 overall, 5-7 in the OVC West.

The Lady Govs and Cougars battled throughout the first half, with neither side able to take a lead of more than seven points. Sophomore Tiasha Gray had a solid opening half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and garnering four steals over the first 20 minutes. Austin Peay used a 6-0 run over the final 2:17 of the first half to take a 39-37 advantage into halftime.

After maintaining a tight contest over the early minutes of the second half, SIU Edwardsville embarked on a 21-6 run after Beth Rates put the Lady Govs up by one with 16:41 remaining. The Lady Govs suddenly found themselves down by 14 before Rates put an end to the run by hitting a jumper with under 10 minutes remaining.

Austin Peay would close the deficit to within six points with 6:56 to go in the half, but the Cougars closed the contest on a 15-6 run that saw Austin Peay miss 11 of its final 13 shot attempts. For the second half, the Lady Govs were a dismal 30.6 percent (11-for-36) from the floor and finished the contest 2-for-18 (11.1 percent) from beyond the three-point line.

SIU Edwardsville's bench proved the tougher of the two second units in Saturday's contest, outscoring Austin Peay's reserves 34-12. The Cougars Tierny Austin led all scorers with 19 points, while Allyssa Decker added 13 off the pine.

Rates' star shone brightest for the Lady Govs on Saturday; she finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting. She also led Austin Peay with nine rebounds and seven assists. Gray was held scoreless in the second half to finish with 12 points, while freshman Tearra Banks (12 points) and junior Kristen Stainback (10 points) also found their way into double figures for the Lady Govs.

Austin Peay returns to the Dunn Center for a Monday night tilt against Eastern Illinois, scheduled for a 7 p.m. opening tip.