THE LEAD
CLARKSVILLE – An eight-minute stretch without a field goal doomed Austin Peay State University women's basketball in a 72-61 loss to Ohio Valley Conference leader SIUE, Wednesday night at the Dunn Center.
WHO GOVERNED
Gray finished with a 20-point outing, her 29th consecutive double-digit scoring outing. However, her seven steals supplied the bigger note, moving her to 290 career steals. She moved into sixth on the OVC's career steals list, surpassing Youngstown State's Danielle Carson (288, 1982-86).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Austin Peay used a 12-2 run spanning the second and third quarters to build a nine-point lead with 6:08 left in the third, but could not extend its lead into double digits.
The Govs hit a shooting lull with 2:32 left in the third quarter that ultimately lasted nearly eight minutes. Austin Peay went 0-for-10 with five turnovers, making 5-of-6 at the free throw line during the swoon.
SIUE capitalized on APSU's shooting woes with a 22-5 run that resulted in a 12-point, 63-51, Cougars lead with 4:38 left and they would not relinquish that lead.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Austin Peay was shooting 50 percent from the floor prior to its shooting drought. The Govs made just four of their final 17 shots, finishing the game with a 41.8 field-goal percentage.
The Govs also were victimized by a 22-turnover outing. SIUE pounced on the giveaways to the tune of 34 points. But it was APSU's 12 second-half turnovers that proved costly, resulting in 20 SIUE points. Austin Peay scored just 24 points off 26 SIUE giveaways.
The loss ended Austin Peay's four-game home win streak and was its fifth straight loss to SIUE. The Govs fell into a tie for fourth place with Southeast Missouri – Saturday's opponent and the first game on their upcoming four-game OVC road trip.
THE FULL RECAP
Austin Peay (7-14, 5-3 OVC) led by nine points, 40-31, early in the third quarter thanks to a 12-2 run that started at the second quarter's end. The Govs scored four points in the final 11 seconds of the second quarter to take a 32-29 lead into halftime. Austin Peay then opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run, capped by junior center Tearra Banks' layup with 6:08 left in the third.
SIUE (13-9, 8-1 OVC) kept the APSU lead from growing larger, trading baskets over the next three minutes. The Govs would push its lead to five points one final time when senior guard Tiasha Gray hit a jumper with 2:32 left in the third. However, Austin Peay would not hit a shot the rest of the third quarter, SIUE closing the period with a 6-0 run to take a 47-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Governors shooting woes continued into the final frame, failing to make a field goal over the opening 5:22. All told, Austin Peay went nearly eight minutes without making a shot from the floor, going 0-for-10 with five turnovers. The Cougars capitalized on the drought with a 22-5 run and led by 12 points, 63-51, before Gray hit a jumper with 4:38 left in the game to end the drought.
Austin Peay would get the deficit back to single digits twice in the final three minutes, but could not get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Gray led Austin Peay with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, adding seven steals, four assists and three rebounds. Banks added 13 points off the bench, but was held to 5-of-12 shooting.
The Govs made 19 of their first 38 shots before the game-deciding drought. Austin Peay closed the game making just four of their final 17 and finished the game making 41.8 percent for the game.
Senior guard Shronda Butts led SIUE with 20 points, one of a quartet of Cougars to reach double-digit scoring territory. Donshel Beck added a 17-point, six-rebound performance while Lauren White supplied 14 points and CoCo Moore chipped in 10 points.
SIUE shot 54 percent from the floor, making 16 of their final 23 shots. The Cougars also made APSU pay for its miscues, turning 22 Govs turnovers into 34 points.
Austin Peay begins a four-game OVC road trip with a 3 p.m., Saturday contest at Southeast Missouri.
