EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Despite strong defensive performances from senior guard Keisha Gregory and junior forward Arielle Gonzalez-Varner, Austin Peay State University's women's basketball team was not able to generate enough offense to get by Tennessee Tech, falling 68-57 at the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Thursday, at the Ford Center.

Gregory flashed with brilliant individual defense, recording five of the Governors nine steals – just one off her career high of six. As a team, the Govs forced the Golden Eagles into 15 turnovers, while giving the ball up just seven times, which tied for the fewest turnovers all season by the team.

Gonzalez-Varner worked hard in the paint, thwarting the Golden Eagles' offensive attack with a career-best three blocked shots. She added five rebounds and tied for the team lead with 12 points with an efficient 5-for-9 effort from the floor.

The game started off as a defensive struggle, as TTU held just an 8-7 lead heading into the first media timeout of the game. The Govs took the lead, 11-9, on a jumper by Gregory – who also poured in 12 points in the game – with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter. Tech tied up the game with free throws on the ensuing possession and retook the lead with a jumper on the possession after that.

The Golden Eagles built a four-point lead at the end of the quarter, and they continued to keep the Govs just ever-so-slightly out of reach, despite numerous attempts to reclaim the lead

"We usually play better when we play faster, but we played from behind today," head coach David Midlick said. "We were four-to-eight points behind the entire game. When you do that, it seems to magnify each possession, and you have to take some chances. If you play slow they're going to get a shot at the basket. We tried to press some, we tried to trap some out of it and hopefully get a rushed shot out of it. Once again, to their credit, they shot the ball well."

Tech pushed the lead to seven on a pair of occasions during the second quarter, but with six minutes remaining, Brandi Ferby drained a three to cut the lead to two. One minute later, Maggie Knowles knocked down a three of her own to slice the lead to two. With 2:45 remaining, Nieja Crawford drilled one from outside the arc to cut the lead to one, 30-29, but the Golden Eagles closed out strong to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room.

The second half continued the trend seen in the second quarter, as Ferby again splashed in a three to open the second half scoring and cut the lead to three. Her sister, Brianah, hit two free throws to get within one, 38-37, but the Golden Eagles closed out the third quarter on a 13-6 run to take an eight point lead into the final frame.

With 7:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, Gregory sprinted down the right side of the court, took a pass from Brandi Ferby, and finished strong at the rim to cut the lead to 53-49. The Govs took a timeout, but the Golden Eagles took momentum going forward.

APSU did get the lead back down to four on a jumper from Knowles at the six-minute mark, but Tech hit a three on the ensuing possession and never let the lead get below seven points.

Despite the outcome, Midlick was pleased with the practices the team put together leading into the tournament, and he was proud of how the team fought during the entirety of the game.

"I felt good about the game: great week of preparation, great group of young ladies to coach, not just this week, but the last four months," Midlick said. "The key of the game was we missed some shots around the basket. We got where we wanted to get – they were right there – but they just didn't fall tonight. Our effort has been there for all 30 games this year."

Notably

• Arielle Gonzalez-Varner set a career-high with three blocks.
• Keisha Gregory notched five steals, one off her career best. It was the first time a Gov had recorded three steals since Brianah Ferby hat six against UT Martin on Feb. 23.
• Gregory and Gonzalez-Varner – the two highest scorers for the Govs all season – led the scoring with 12 points apiece.
• The seven turnovers committed tied for the fewest all season, which they had done four previous times, including their last regular season game at Murray State.