BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – For the third-straight game, Austin Peay State University women's basketball team never trailed, as the Governors used a season-high 25 points from Yamia Johnson to beat Gardner-Webb, 73-62, Saturday at Paul Porter Arena. 

Austin Peay (6-3) got on the scoreboard first once again, with Ella Sawyer finding Nina De Leon Negron for a fast-break layup just 50 seconds into the contest. Karle Pace and Yamia Johnson would each score their first points of the day, stretching a lead the Govs would not surrender to 6-0 before Jhessyka Williams finally got Gardner-Webb (2-8) on the scoreboard with a layup at the 6:45 mark in the opening quarter. 

The Governors built their biggest lead of the first quarter, 12-4, after Pace knocked down a jumper in the paint, Johnson stole a pass on the ensuing Runnin' Bulldog's possession, and De Leon Negron converted another fast-break layup to push the advantage to eight points with 3:50 left on the clock. 

Liz Gibbs scored the final three points of the first quarter for the Governors, but Gardner-Webb was able to cut into the advantage and Austin Peay led, 15-11, after ten minutes of basketball. 

After trading baskets on the first four possessions of the second quarter, Lyric Cole scored two of her 12 points with 6:51 left in the second quarter, starting a 10-0 Austin Peay run that would span the next 3:23 of the contest. The rest of the run was all Johnson, as the 5-11 senior hit a jumper in the lane before drilling back-to-back three-pointers to put the Governors ahead, 29-16, with 3:28 left before halftime.

The Runnin' Bulldogs were able to trim the Govs lead to just 11 points with 2:21 left in the half, but a Johnson layup started another run – an 8-0 stretch that lasted just 1:38. After a Sawyer bucket, Johnson drilled her third three-pointer of the quarter and Gibbs converted a layup to give Austin Peay its first 2-point advantage, 42-22, with 31 seconds left before the break.

Gardner-Webb was able to knock down a pair of free throws to end the first half, but the Governors led 42-24, at halftime. Johnson led Austin Peay with 17 points while going 5-of-6 from the floor, 3-for-3 from three-point range, and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line in the second quarter.

Cole and Kasey Kidwell layups got the second-half scoring started, pushing the Austin Peay lead to 46-24 with 7:51 left in the third period. After a Lauren Bevis triple brought Gardner-Webb with 18 points with 3:28 left in the quarter, Pace connected from three-point range before back-to-back Johnson layups gave the Governors a 25-point lead, 57-32, with 2:03 left in the frame.

The Govs matched their 25-point advantage – the biggest of the game – when Kaiden Glenn converted a layup with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, but Gardner-Webb knocked down a three-pointer with just five seconds left and Austin Peay led, 61-39, with ten minutes left to play. 

After a Cole layup put the Governors ahead, 65-44, with 5:51 left on the clock, Austin Peay went scoreless for the next 3:58 of the game. The Runnin' Bulldogs capitalized on the Govs' untimely cold spell and went on a 15-0 run, bringing the score to 65-59 with 1:53 left to play. 

Leading by just six points, Pace put an end to the Gardner-Webb run with a jumper in the lane at the 1:53 mark in the fourth quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs would cut the deficit to six points once more, but that was as close as they would get, with De Leon Negron, Gibbs, and Pace combing to make six-straight free throws down the stretch and give Austin Peay its third-straight wire-to-wire victory.

The Difference 

Pretty simple, Austin Peay made its shots. The Govs took four fewer shots from the floor than Gardner-Webb but made nine more field goals than the Runnin' Bulldogs. The Governors shot 44.4 percent from the floor, while Gardner-Webb shot just 28.4 percent from the field. 

From the Twitterverse

Notably 

• Austin Peay has picked up three-straight wire-to-wire wins and has not trailed since it fell to Tulsa on Nov. 27 at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament.
• Austin Peay has won back-to-back games in North Carolina after not taking the court in Tar Heel State since 2008.
• The Governors improved to 1-0 all-time against Gardner-Webb.
• Gardner-Webb was the Govs' fifth-straight game against a first-time opponent and their sixth game against a first-time opponent this season. Austin Peay is now 4-2 against first-time foes this year.
• The Governors scored 46 points in the paint, matching their second-best single-game total this season, and improved to 5-0 when they outscore their opponents in the paint. 
• Austin Peay also outscored Gardner-Webb, 20-12, in points off turnovers. All six of the Govs' wins this season have come when they score more points off turnovers than their opponent.
• The Govs bench scored 36 points, its second-best outing this season, behind a 40-point day against Davidson, Nov. 26, at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament. 
• Yamia Johnson scored a season-high 25 points – the best single-game performance by a Gov this year – and has now scored in double-figures in all nine games she has played at Austin Peay.
• Johnson's 25 points are the most by a Governor since Brianah Ferby scored 26 points at North Alabama (11/25/20).
• Johnson also matched her season-high with nine rebounds. 
• Johnson was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range, she has hit a season-high three triples in back-to-back games and three times this season. 
• Karle Pace scored 16 points; she has scored in double-figures in eight of nine games to start her Austin Peay career.
• Lyric Cole scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on her second-career double-double. 
• Cole and Johnson led Austin Peay on the glass with nine rebounds each.
• Liz Gibbs and Nina De Leon Negron each led the Governors with three assists – it is the team-best sixth time De Leon Negron has led the team in assists and it is the first time this season for Gibbs. 

Up Next 

Austin Peay will play its final game before Christmas when it hosts a 2 p.m., Tuesday contest against UT Southern in the Winfield Dunn Center. After the holidays, the Governors kick off OVC play against UT Martin at 5 p.m., Dec. 30 in the Dunn Center. For news and updates on everything Governors women's basketball, follow along on Twitter or Instagram (@GovsWBB) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.