NASHVILLE – A defensive clinic.

Those are the best words to describe the effort of the Austin Peay State University women's basketball team, who held their opponent under 40 points for the first time in 19 years on their way to a 62-37 win at Tennessee State and a 3-0 start in Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time since 2016, Monday, in the Gentry Center.

It was a slower start for the Governors on the offensive end, but David Midlick's squad put on more steam throughout the game and scored more points in each progressive quarter. The three-point shot was the igniter for the offense once again, as Austin Peay connected nine times from downtown, led by Maggie Knowles who scored all 15 of her points exclusively from behind the arc.

The Lady Tigers got on the scoreboard first, but a Kemia Ward layup quickly evened things up before a Knowles triple gave the Govs a three-point lead two and a half minutes into the contest. Austin Peay and Tennessee State would trade baskets for around the next five minutes, until a D'Shara Booker layup with 2:03 left marked the final bucket of the period for the Governors. The Lady Tigers closed the first quarter on a 4-0 run and held a 16-12 lead over the Govs after 10 minutes.

After an Andreana Wrister layup gave Tennessee State a six-point lead to start the second quarter; Austin Peay went on a 13-1 run fueled by a trio of three-pointers and a pair of blocked shots.

Knowles buried a pair of threes to start the run, and then Kemia Ward blocked shots on back-to-back defensive possessions to set up back-to-back made shots – a jumper in the lane and a triple – by Tahanee Bennell. Kelen Kenol capped off the Govs run when she made a back-door cut and Kasey Kidwell found her wide-open at the hoop for two points.

The 13-1 run pushed the Governors lead to six – the biggest of the first half – with 5:21 left in the second quarter, but Tennessee State did not go away quite yet. The Lady Tigers fought back and cut the deficit to one, but a Brandi Ferby layup with 2:39 left marked the final points of the half and the Govs lead 27-24 at the break.

In the second half the Govs defense took it up a notch, recording 8 steals, 11 forced turnovers and holding Tennessee State to just 8 points in the third period. Booker and Brandi Ferby spearheaded the defensive attack, picking up four and three steals, respectively, in just the third quarter. On top of the defensive effort, Knowles connected on another pair of triples and Myah LeFlore drilled her first three of the contest, extending the Austin Peay lead to a dozen at the start of the fourth quarter.

The fourth period saw the Governors play some of their best defense in recent memory, holding Tennessee State to just five points and two made field-goals in the final ten minutes of the contest. Booker also played some of her best basketball as a Gov down the stretch, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds in the final period; she would finish the game with 11 points and 9 rebounds, missing her career's first double-double by just a single rebounds for the second-straight trip to the Gentry Center.

The Difference

It's pretty simple… defense. Austin Peay held Tennessee State to just 37 points on a dozen made field goals. The Govs forced 23 turnovers and held the Lady Tigers to single-digit scoring in each of the final three quarters of the contest, while only allowing Tennessee State to score 13 points in the second half.  

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Notably

• The last time Austin Peay held an opponent under 40 points in a game was on Dec. 2, 2002, when the Govs beat Ohio, 69-38, in the Dunn Center.
• The Governors picked up their sixth-straight win against Tennessee State, improving to 37-28 against the Lady Tigers in the all-time series.
• The Govs six-game winning streak against Tennessee State is its longest active winning streak against an OVC opponent.
• The Governors 3-0 start to conference play is their best start in the OVC since David Midlick's first season at Austin Peay in 2016.
• Austin Peay forced Tennessee State to turn the ball over 23 times, the Governors have now forced 20+ turnovers in three-straight contests.
• As a team, the Governors matched their season-high with 41 rebounds in the contest.
• Last season at Tennessee State, D'Shara Booker posted a career-high 15 points and 9 rebounds, narrowly missing her career's first double-double by a rebound; Booker once again missed her first double-double by one rebound, scoring 11 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the contest.
• Booker's nine boards led the Govs in rebounding, it is the third time this season and ninth time in her career she has led the way on the glass.
• On the defensive end, Booker led Ausitn Peay with a career-high five steals.  
• Maggie Knowles has knocked down at least five three-pointers in each of the last three games she has played, she also led the Govs in scoring for the third time this season with 15 points – all from three-point range.
• Kemia Ward blocked a career-high three shots against Tennessee State, she leads the Govs with seven blocks this season.
• With five assists, Brianah Ferby led the Govs in helpers for the third time this season and seventh time in her career.

Up Next

Austin Peay will continue on its season-long five game road trip, with the next stop being a 5 p.m., Thursday contest at SIUE. The Govs will then make stops at Eastern Illinois, UT Martin and Southeast Missouri before returning home Jan. 21 against Tennessee Tech. For news and scheduling updates, check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the Governor women's basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayWBB).