CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's basketball got back to its winning ways behind another stellar rebounding and three-point shooting performance; the Governors pulled down 46 rebounds and outrebounded Jacksonville State by nine, while also knocking down nine three-pointers – against a team that allows just 3.8 triples per game – en route to a 61-51 win over the Gamecocks, Saturday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (8-5, 6-3) set the tone from deep early, with Maggie Knowles knocking down a three-pointer to get the Govs on the board after Yamia Johnson hit a layup for Jacksonville State (7-4,4-3) on their first possession.
With 5:12 left in the first period, Kemia Ward pulled down an offensive rebound and set up a Myah LeFlore three-pointer that would give the Govs an early seven-point advantage. After a Kelen Kenol layup gave the Governors an eight-point lead with just over two minutes left, Shay-Lee Kirby grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and then beat the Jacksonville State defense back and got open for a corner three, giving the Govs a 20-9 lead.
The Gamecocks would answer the Kirby triple by scoring the final bucket of the quarter, but after ten minute of action the Governors led, 20-11.
The Governors enforced their will on Jacksonville State in the second period, outrebounding the Gamecocks ,16-9, and holding them to just seven in the quarter. D'Shara Booker and Knowles led the Govs on the glass in the second quarter, with Booker grabbing four of her career-high 10 boards and Knowles pulling down four of her career-high eight rebounds.
On the offensive end the Govs closed the first half on an 8-0 run that started when Brandi Ferby knocked down a free throw with 4:47 left on the clock. A minute later Brandi Ferby found the bottom of the net again, drilling a three-pointer to give the Governors a 13-point advantage.
An Ella Sawyer layup and a pair of free throws from Booker marked the end of the first half scoring, and after 20 minutes of action the Governors had nearly doubled up Jacksonville State, 35-18.
In the third quarter Jacksonville State shot 50 percent from the floor and was able to cut into the Governors lead behind the scoring of Johnson. Johnson knocked down a three-pointer and scored eight of her of her 16 points in the third frame. But the Govs were able to minimize the Jacksonville State surge, as Knowles connected twice from three-point range and scored eight points of her own to help Austin Peay hold on to a nine-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
After the Gamecocks scored back-to-back buckets to start the fourth quarter, Tahanee Bennell knocked down her first three-pointer of the contest to put the Governors back up by eight. But Jacksonville State answered the triple with a 5-0 run, trimming the Austin Peay lead right back to three points, before Bennell found her way to the basket again for a layup.
With 3:14 left in the contest and the Govs leading by just three points, Bennell drilled another three-pointer and sparked a game-closing 9-2 run for Austin Peay. With 2:40 left on the clock, Booker pulled down a rebound on the defensive end and dished to Bennell who found LeFlore on a run-out layup that put the Governors back up by eight.
The final points of the contest belonged to Booker, who secured her career's first double-double on a layup with 1:18 in the contest. The Booker bucket also put the Governors back up by ten points and sealed the win for Austin Peay.
The Difference
Rebounding or three-point shooting, dealers' choice. The Governors outrebounded Jacksonville State, 46-37, and knocked down six more triples than the Gamecocks.
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Notably
- Austin Peay picked up its second-straight win against Jacksonville State, extending their lead in the all-time series, 17-12.
- The Governors pulled down 46 rebounds, that is their second-best single-game total this season, behind only a 50-rebound effort against SIUE (1/7/21).
- The Govs made 9 three-pointers, that is the most Jacksonville State has surrendered in a single-game this season.
- Austin Peay dished out 15 assists on 23 made field goals, that is the Govs most assists since they posted 21 helpers against SIUE (1/7/21).
- D'Shara Booker posted her career's first double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, she is the first Gov with a double-double since Arielle Gonzalez-Varner recorded a 10-point, 11 rebound performance against Tennessee Tech (1/9/20).
- Ella Sawyer grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, matching Booker for the team lead.
- Maggie Knowles matched her career-high on the glass, grabbing a season-high 8 rebounds.
- Tahanee Bennell scored 10 points, she has scored in double figures in three-straight and four out of the last five games.
- Bennell also dished out a season-high six assists – two off her career-high.
Quotably, coach Midlick
On the offense… "We stood around at times and once again we kind of had that deer in the headlights look when they [Jacksonville State] got down and were chipping away. In the last few minutes we finally got back to some player movement and ball movement, and we got good shots then. Not that we are always going to make shots, but that can happen every time when we are moving the basketball. That is a really good basketball team in this league and you have got to earn a win against them."
On the Govs rebounding… "The last two weeks we have done a much better job on the boards than we did pre-2021."
Moving forward… "We talked about it, we did not play poorly on Thursday. I thought we did some things better tonight, we didn't foul in the first half, where we fouled some on Thursday and that came back and bit us some in the third period. But it's good to win and hopeful give the team some confidence and momentum going into Monday."
Up Next
It will be a quick turnaround for Austin Peay who will continue its five-game Ohio Valley Conference home stand when they host Murray State for a 6 p.m., Monday tilt in the Dunn Center. The Governors will then host Belmont and Tennessee State, before heading back on the road Feb. 4 at Eastern Kentucky.
