Women's Basketball | December 17, 2021

CLARKSVILLE – Looking for its third-straight win, Austin Peay State University women's basketball team will play its final nonconference road game when it takes on Gardner-Webb for the first time in program history at 2 p.m., Saturday at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

The Governors picked up a 76-50 win at UNC Asheville, Thursday, in Asheville, North Carolina, improving to 2-1 on the road this season. Austin Peay will now match up with a Gardner-Webb team that is 0-2 at home this season.

Saturday's game against Gardner-Webb will be streamed on ESPN+.

Scouting the Runnin' Bulldogs

After a fourth-place finish in the 2020-21 regular season, Gardner-Webb fell to eventual Big South Tournament Champion High Point in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Big South Women's Basketball Championship.

This season, fourth-year head coach Alex Simmons' Runnin' Bulldogs were tabbed to finish fifth in the Big South Preseason Poll, but are off to a 2-7 start in nonconference play with wins over ETSU and UNC Greensboro.

2020-21 All-Conference Honorable Mention Jhessyka Williams ranks second in the Big South and leads Gardner-Webb in scoring (17.6 ppg) this season. The 5-10 senior also ranks second in the Big South in rebounding (8.4 rpg) this season.

A Second Team All-Conference selection in 2020-21, sophomore Lauren Bevis is the Runnin' Bulldogs' second-leading scorer and ranks sixth in the Big South, averaging 14.1 points per game. Bevis is also tied for the league lead in three-pointers made (2.8 per game) and ranks second in three-point percentage (.424).

Gardner-Webb also has the reigning 2020-21 Big South Freshman of the Year in Alasia Smith, who is averaging 11.7 points per game, which ranks 16th in the conference this season. The Science Hill High School product also ranks seventh in the Big South in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and leads the league in steals (3.1 spg). A Johnson City, Tennessee native, Smith was also named a Second Team Preseason All-Big South selection this season, she was the only Runnin' Bulldog on the preseason team.

As a team, Gardner-Webb scores the fifth-most points (63.8 ppg) in the Big South, but they also give up the second-most points (80.4) in the league this season.

Gardner-Webb head coach Alex Simmons (née Fuller) played college basketball at Tennessee from 2004-09, where she helped the Lady Vols win a pair of National Championships (2007 & 2008) while playing for the legendary coach Pat Summitt.

Series History and Lasting Meeting

Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay and Gardner-Webb

Notably…

• Austin Peay is playing its sixth of six games against first-time opponents this season when it takes on Gardner-Webb. The Govs are 3-2 against first-time foes this season and the Runnin' Bulldogs are their fifth of five-straight games against first-time opponents.
• Asheville native and Austin Peay senior Kasey Kidwell is playing in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career. The 2018 Carolina Day School alumna recorded 7 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in her first college game in North Carolina against UNC Asheville, Dec. 16.
• Austin Peay is playing its first games in North Carolina since 2008 when it won at Elon, 81-53, on Dec. 28 in Alumni Gymnasium and lost to No. 2 North Carolina, 61-93, on Dec. 30 in the Dean E. Smith Center.
• Austin Peay freshman Lyric Cole is the reigning OVC Freshman of the Week after posting a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double against Bellarmine. It is the first time the Memphis native has been named the OVC Freshman of the Week.
• Through eight games, Austin Peay is shooting 47.4 percent from the floor as a team. The Govs have not shot over 45 percent from the floor in a season since the 2002-03 team set the program record by shooting 47.4 percent.
• Yamia Johnson and Karle Pace are averaging 15.3 and 14.1 points per game, respectively, the duo ranks fourth and sixth in the OVC in scoring this season.
• Nina De Leon Negron is one of two OVC players that ranks in the top six in the league in both assists (3.6 apg) and steals (2.1 spg) this season.
• Ella Sawyer's eight assists against Bellarmine and Nina De Leon Negron's eight assists against UNC Asheville are tied for the best single-game total in the OVC, Austin Peay is the only team with multiple players to have an 8-assist game this season.

Tickets, Please

Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the 2021-22 basketball season. Fans can purchase or renew their season tickets online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or by calling the Austin Peay Ticket Office at 931-221-PEAY (7329). More information on season and single-game tickets can also be found online.

Govs Online

For up-to-date news and information on Austin Peay Athletics, check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow along on Facebook. To keep up with the Governors women's basketball team, follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GovsWBB). Live stats will be available during all home games and select road games at PeayStats.com. In addition, all Austin Peay home games, OVC games, and select road games will be broadcast on ESPN+ this season, visit the women's basketball schedule at LetsGoPeay.com for a complete broadcast schedule.

Up Next

Austin Peay returns home for one final game before Christmas when it hosts UT Southern for a 2 p.m., Tuesday contest in the Winfield Dunn Center. The Governors then kick off Ohio Valley Conference play when they welcome UT Martin to Clarksville for a 5 p.m., Dec. 30 game.