CLARKSVILLE – Looking to wrap up the nonconference slate with four-consecutive wins, Austin Peay State University women's basketball team will host UT Southern for Comfy and Cozy Day at 2 p.m., Tuesday in the Winfield Dunn Center.

For Comfy and Cozy Day, Austin Peay Athletics encourages fans to wear their pajamas, slippers, or comfiest outfits to watch the Govs take on the FireHawks. Free hot chocolate will also be provided to all fans in attendance.

Austin Peay women's basketball has also partnered with the Salvation Army and fans can receive a free general admission to Tuesday's game by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to the game.

The Governors enter the nonconference finale on a three-game winning streak after picking up a 73-62 win at Gardner-Webb, Saturday. Brittany Young and the Govs are a perfect 3-0 on Dave Loos Court this season and will look to stay unbeaten at home when they host UT Southern.

Tuesday's game against UT Southern will be streamed on ESPN+.

Scouting the FireHawks

After a ninth-place finish in the 2020-21 Mid-South Conference regular season, UT Southern beat No. 8-seed Freed-Hardeman in the opening round of the conference tournament before falling to top-seeded Thomas More (Ky.) in the quarterfinals.

In his fourth season at the helm, Billy Evans's team is 8-2 overall and 3-1 in conference action this season. UT Southern has a pair of common opponents with the Govs this season, the FireHawks have a win over Pikeville, 70-58, on Dec. 4 and an exhibition loss to North Alabama, 53-67, in the last game they played on Dec. 11.

UT Southern is led in scoring by senior guard Faith Sherrow, who is averaging 23.2 points and 5.0 made three-pointers per game, she has scored 20-plus points in all but one of the FireHawk's ten regular-season games this year. Sherrow was named the Mid-South Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 1 after averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in two outings against Talladega (Ala.) and the University of Health Science and Pharmacy (Mo.).

Sherrow also scored a season-high 33 points in UT Southern's last regular season contest, going 11-of-24 from the floor and 9-of-18 from three-point range in an 84-55 win against Fisk.

Sophomore guard Aaryn Grace Lester is the FireHawks second-leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game this season. Lester is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, she posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in UT Southern's season opener against Talladega.

Senior forward Savannah Walker is averaging a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game and senior guard Taylor McNairy is averaging a team-high 5.2 assists per game for UT Southern. Freshman guard Rylee Long also chops in 8.6 points per game for the FireHawks.

Series History and Lasting Meeting

Austin Peay has hosted UT Southern – known as Martin Methodist at the time of all three meetings – in the Winfield Dunn Center three times, with the Govs picking up a 91-47 win on Nov. 26, 1994, and a 76-46 win on Dec. 18, 1995.

In the last meeting between the Governors and FireHawks – who were known as the RedHawks at the time – UT Southern knocked off the Austin Peay, 72-76, on Dec. 2, 1998.

Notably…

• Austin Peay wraps up its nonconference slate when it takes UT Southern -- formerly known as Martin Methodist -- for the first time in 23 years.
• Austin Peay has not trailed in a game since it fell to Tulsa, Nov. 27, at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament. The Govs are on a three-game winning streak with three-straight wire-to-wire wins against Bellarmine, UNC Asheville, and Gardner-Webb.
• Through nine games, Austin Peay is shooting 47.0 percent from the floor as a team -- that ranks second in the OVC. 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 had her best game as a Governor with a season-high 25 points and 9 rebounds against Gardner-Webb. She ranks third in the OVC in scoring (16.3 ppg) and has scored in double-figures in the first nine games of her Austin Peay career.
• Karle Pace has scored in double-figures in eight of the first nine games in her Austin Peay career and ranks sixth in the OVC in scoring (14.3 ppg) this season.
• Lyric Cole narrowly missed her second-career double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds at Gardner-Webb. Cole ranks second in the OVC in field-goal percentage (.652) and fifth in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
• Nina De Leon Negron is one of two OVC players that ranks in the top six in the league in both assists (4.0 apg) and steals (2.0 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.
• After a break for the holidays, Austin Peay will kick off its final season in the Ohio Valley Conference when it plays a 5 p.m., Dec. 30 game against UT Martin in the Winfield Dunn Center.

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

After a break for the holidays, Austin Peay will start Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts a 5 p.m., Dec. 30 agaisnt UT Martin in the Dunn Center. The Governors then hit the road for a 2 p.m., Jan. 1 contest against Southeast Missouri at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.