CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team, assured of a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament as either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, will look for a season sweep of rival Murray State in Act II of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border, 5 p.m., Saturday, at the CFSB Center.
The Governors (15-13, 10-7 OVC) used an efficient second half to close out Eastern Kentucky and clinch a spot in next week's OVC Tournament. Arielle Gonzalez-Varner finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, game-highs in each category, greatly contributing to head coach David Midlick's 100th career victory at the collegiate level.
Despite the 80-60 final score, the Govs actually trailed by one at the half against EKU. The Colonels, who were still winless in the OVC, showed no signs of rolling over on their Senior Night. However, the Govs made 13 threes in the contest, with three each from Keisha Gregory, Gabby Gregory, and Maggie Knowles, and held the Colonels to only one point over the game's final six minutes.
Gonzalez-Varner reclaims her spot atop the OVC with the best shooting percentage after a 9-of-14 effort on Thursday, shooting 51.1 percent overall. Knowles has also made at least two three-pointers in six straight games.
Opponent Spotlight
The Racers (12-16, 8-9 OVC) are one of four teams who currently sit at 8-9 in the OVC. Only three of the four teams will get in, with two of those playing each other, so the Racers know they are in the tournament with a win. After leading early against Morehead State in their game Thursday, they faltered down the stretch in a game that would have clinched a spot in the tourney field.
Evelyn Adebayo is still the conference leader in points and rebounds. The British forward puts up 18.3 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per contest. Against the Govs, she put up 16 points and nine boards, a little bit of a disappointment based on her averages and the fact she only had two points in the entire second half. Macey Turley, the only freshman to average double-digits in the OVC, puts up 13.3 points per game and also is one of the league's leading distributors, dishing out 4.3 assists per game. The player who hurt the Govs the most a couple weeks ago, however, was Janika Griffith-Wallace. Griffith-Wallace had 22 points, basically doubling her 11.6 points per game average, and hit four three-pointers in the game.
Down by six entering the fourth period against Murray in the Dunn, the Govs only allowed nine points in the fourth, using Keisha Gregory's 20 points and Brandi Ferby's career-highs of seven rebounds and nine assists to complete the comeback.
How to Follow Along
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Scott Chase will be on the radio call for the Governors Sports Network via ESPN Clarksville. Murray State will provide live stats and @AustinPeayWBB will provide live updates on Twitter.
