CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's basketball head coach David Midlick has announced five non-conference tilts for the 2020-21 schedule, in conjunction with a 20-game Ohio Valley Conference schedule, which the league office announced Thursday.

In order to help address the issues associated with the delayed start date and to be responsive to a desire to provide additional contests within the geographic region, the OVC increased the schedule from 18 to 20 conference games for the 2020-21 season. Overall the Govs will play every OVC team once and nine schools twice.

To give teams flexibility to complete their non-conference schedules, the OVC gave schools the discretion to schedule their two games with their "travel partner" – Murray State in the Governors case – separate from the 18-game conference schedule. One of these two games had to be scheduled before the holiday break and the other could be scheduled any time during the basketball season, with the games scheduled for Dec. 19 and Jan. 25.

"Our athletics directors explored a number of scheduling options designed to address the scheduling challenges we may face due to the pandemic," said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. "Ultimately, they decided to adopt schedules that increase the opportunity for conference competition while staying true to our traditional conference scheduling structure and pattern.

"Our intention is to play as close to a typical conference schedule as possible, but we stand ready to address scheduling challenges and modify the schedule during the course of the season should the facts warrant. I am grateful to our OVC leaders for their dedication, foresight and commitment to our student-athletes."

The Governors will tip off the season on the road for the third time in four years, taking on North Alabama in a 1 p.m., Nov. 25 matchup. Later that weekend the Govs will welcome Trevecca for a 1 p.m., Nov. 28 home opener at the Winfield Dunn Center.

December starts with a pair of road contests for the Govs, who will travel to Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 2) for the second-straight season and Florida State (Dec. 6) for the second time in program history. The non-conference portion of the schedule concludes when the Governors host Chattanooga for a 6 p.m., Dec. 15 meeting between the in-state foes.

Once OVC play begins, the Governors will play all Thursday home games at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday home games at 1 p.m., with the men's contest to follow three hours later.

Austin Peay will open the OVC schedule against Murray State (Dec. 19), marking the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Govs have squared off with the Racers in the conference opener.  After a quick break for Christmas, the Governors are back in action when they make the short trip down I-24 to take on Tennessee State, Dec. 30.

The New Year starts when the Governors host Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 2) at the Dunn Center. Austin Peay then embarks upon a season-long four-game road trip, taking the Govs to SIUE (Jan. 7), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 9), UT Martin (Jan. 14) and Southeast Missouri (Jan. 16).

The four-game road jaunt is followed by a season-long five-game home stand, as the Governors will take on Tennessee Tech (Jan. 21), Jacksonville State (Jan. 23), Murray State (Jan. 25), Belmont (Jan. 28), and Tennessee State (Jan. 30) at the Dunn Center to wrap up January.

A two-game road trip to the Commonwealth kicks off February, as the Governors will play Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 4) and Morehead State (Feb. 6). The Govs will then wrap up the home slate with a four-game home stand, welcoming UT Martin (Feb. 11), Southeast Missouri (Feb. 13), SIUE (Feb. 20), and Eastern Illinois (Feb. 20) to Clarksville to wrap up play in the Dunn Center.

On the road for the final weekend of the season, the Governors will head south for an in-state clash with Tennessee Tech (Feb. 25), before wrapping up the season at Jacksonville State (Feb. 27).

The 2020 OVC Women's Basketball Tournament (Mar. 3-6) will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, for the fourth consecutive season. This season the OVC Women's Basketball Tournament will return to the tiered bracket format (the same bracket style that is currently used by the OVC Men's Basketball Tournament) for the first time since 2014.

Below is a brief summary of the Govs' non-conference schedule. Be sure to keep up with everything happening around Austin Peay at LetsGoPeay.com and the official Facebook page of Austin Peay athletics, as well on Twitter and Instagram (@LetsGoPeay). For all things related to women's basketball, be sure to follow @AustinPeayWBB on Twitter.