CLARKSVILLE – At the midway point of a five-game road trip, Austin Peay State University women's basketball has a chance to post their best start to Ohio Valley Conference play since 2003 when they square off with Eastern Illinois in a 1 p.m., Saturday contest at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois.

Austin Peay picked up its fourth-straight win to start OVC play when they knocked off SIUE, 73-54, improving to 4-0 to start conference play for the first time since 2004. The Governors are currently on a five-game road swing and will still travel to UT Martin and Southeast Missouri before returning home Jan. 21 against Tennessee Tech.

Saturday's contest between Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois is a doubleheader, and the men's teams will square off at 4 p.m. following the women's contest.

Scouting the Panthers

After a fourth-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference regular season in 2019-20; Eastern Illinois advanced to the semifinals of the OVC Women's Basketball Championship, where they fell to the eventual runner up, UT Martin. 

This season Eastern Illinois was tabbed to finish fifth in the Coaches and SIDs Preseason Poll, and the league's media also picked the Panthers to finish fifth in their 2020-21 Preseason Poll. Fourth-year head coach Matt Bollant returns nine letterwinners and all five starters from a squad that went 19-12 overall and 12-6 in OVC play last season.

After receiving First-Team All-OVC honors last season, both Karle Pace and Lariah Washington were named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-OVC team. Pace and Washington are a part of a trio of Panthers that all rank in the top-nine in the OVC in scoring; however, that trio is led by junior forward Abby Wahl.

Wahl ranks sixth in the OVC in scoring (16.1 ppg) and leads the conference in rebounding (9.1 rpg), she is also shooting 49.1 percent from the floor -- good for fourth-best in the conference. Wahl was named OVC Player of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season, after posting a 21-rebound effort against UIC, Nov. 25, and a 23-point outing against Northern Illinois, Dec. 4.

Washington, who was also named the 2019-20 OVC Freshman of the Year, is averaging 15.1 points per game -- good for seventh best in the conference. Washington averages 5.1 rebounds per game and posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Panther's season opener against UIC.

Finally, Clarksville-native Karle Pace ranks ninth in the OVC in scoring (13 ppg), fifth in assists (3.6 apg), and ninth in three-point field goals made per game (1.8). Last season, Pace scored 19 points in both games she played against her hometown team, she also averaged 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 3 made three-pointers in two games against the Govs last season.

Series History

This is the 52nd meeting in a series that dates back to 1995; Austin Peay leads the all-time series, 29-22.

The last meeting between Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois featured 12 lead changes and 13 ties; and the Governors came up just short in the final seconds of regulation, dropping a heartbreaker for the Panthers, 73-72, on Feb. 22, 2020, in Lantz Arena.

After a slow start to the contest, the Govs stormed back to take a three-point advantage over the Panthers into halftime. But Eastern Illinois came out of the break and built a six-point lead heading into the final period, where an Austin Peay comeback would come up just one-point shy.

Brianah Ferby led the Govs in scoring with 16 points, she also connected on a trio of three-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. Maggie Knowles and Brandi Ferby each scored a dozen points, Knowles connected four times from downtown and Brandi also led the Govs with four assists.

Karle Pace led Eastern Illinois with a game-high 19 points and Abby Wahl chipped in 15 points for the Panthers. Morgan Litwiller and Lariah Washington each scored 11 points, and Litwiller led Eastern Illinois with 7 rebounds.

Notably…

• With a 4-0 record to start conference play, Austin Peay is off to its best start in Ohio Valley Conference play since 2004.
• With a win over Eastern Illinois, the Governors can improve to 5-0 to start OVC play for the first time since the 2002-03 season, when Susie Gardener's team went 16-0 in conference play.
• Austin Peay is on its first four-game OVC winning streak since 2014, when Carrie Daniel's team won four-straight games from Jan. 13 to Jan. 25.
• Last time out the Govs grabbed a season-high 50 rebounds and outrebounded SIUE, 50-32.
• The Governors dished out 21 assists on 26 made field goals in their last game against SIUE, the Govs 21 assists is their second-best single-game total this season. 
• Austin Peay is one of two teams in the OVC that rank in the top four in scoring offense (70.5 ppg) and scoring defense (61.6 ppg), because of that the Govs rank second in the league in scoring margin (+8.9).
• Nationally the Governors rank 19th in three-pointers per game (9.1), 21st in three-pointers attempted (233), and 29th in three-pointers made (73) -- they lead the OVC in all three statistics as well.
• Brandi Ferby ranks eighth in the nation and leads with conference with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.33 through eight games this season.
• The Govs rank second in the OVC in steals per game (10.9); led by Brandi and Brianah Ferby, who rank second (2.9 spg) and fourth (2.6 spg) in the OVC, respectively, in steals per game this season.

Govs in the time of COVID

For the 2020-21 season, Austin Peay State University athletics will allow approximately 35 percent capacity in the Dunn Center for home basketball events. There will be no lower bowl seating for fans during the season. The lower level will be limited to players, coaches, and game-day support staff only. Seats will be assigned to create a buffer between groups to ensure social distancing is maintained. Student seating will be located in sections AA-BB for both men's and women's games. Masks or facial coverings are required to enter the Dunn Center. They must remain in place at all times unless eating or drinking.

Govs Online

Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay's Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all Governor athletics, as well as the Governor women's basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayWBB). Live stats will be available during the game at PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on the ESPN+ app. ESPN Clarksville (104.1 FM/540 AM) will carry the radio broadcast locally and online.