Women's Basketball | January 12, 2022

CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's basketball team kicks off a stretch of three Ohio Valley Conference games in five days when it makes the short trip down I-24 for a 5 p.m., Thursday contest against Belmont at the Curb Event Center in Nashville.

Austin Peay is 4-1 on the road this season and has won four-straight road contests after dropping its season opener on the road at Evansville, Nov. 9. In OVC play, the Governors are 1-0 on the road after beating Southeast Missouri, Jan. 1, for their first conference win of the season.

As always, Belmont is tough to beat on their home floor. The Bruins are 3-1 at the Curb Event Center this season with their only loss coming when the hosted Auburn, Dec. 15. Belmont is 1-0 at home during conference play, having beat Southeast Missouri, Jan. 6, in its OVC home opener.

Thursday's game at Belmont will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Govs were supposed to play SIUE on Thursday, Jan. 6, but that game was postponed until Monday, Jan. 17 due to the implementation of COVID protocols within the SIUE program. The rescheduled contest with the Cougars will tip-off at 6 p.m. and have free admission.

Scouting the Bruins

After a second-place finish in the 2020-21 OVC regular season, Belmont won its fifth OVC Tournament title in six years when it beat UT Martin, 83-75, in the championship game at the Ford Center. The Bruins went on to beat fifth-seeded Gonzaga, 64-59, in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, before falling to fourth-seeded Indiana, 70-48, in the second round.

This season, Belmont received 15 first-place place votes and was tabbed to win the OVC in the 2021-22 preseason poll, with sophomore guard Destinee Wells being named the Preseason OVC Player of the Year. Wells was also named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award preseason watch list after being named the OVC Tournament MVP in 2021.

Averaging 17.0 points per game this season, Wells ranks second in the OVC in scoring and has scored in double-figures in 16-straight games dating back to last season -- including a career-high 32 points against UT Martin in the OVC Championship. Wells also ranks fourth in the OVC in assists (3.8 apg) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (1.6).

Belmont also returns Preseason All-OVC selections in senior forward Conley Chinn and sophomore guard Tuti Jones. Averaging 11.3 points per game, Jones ranks 16th in the league in scoring this season. Jones also ranks second in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.1), third in steals (2.8), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), and ninth in assists (3.2 apg).

Madison Bartley is averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Bruins, she also leads the OVC with 17 blocked shots (1.4 per game) this season.

Belmont is averaging 8.5 made three-pointers per game, which leads the OVC and ranks 32nd in the NCAA. In conference play, Belmont leads the OVC in scoring offense (81.0 ppg) and scoring margin (+24.0), it also has the second-best scoring defense (57.0) in the league.

Series History and Lasting Meeting

Austin Peay and Belmont have played 21 times since the series began in 1982. Since the Bruins joined the OVC in 2012, the Govs are 1-8 against Belmont in regular-season contests and 0-2 in the conference tournament. The Governors are looking to pick up their first-ever OVC win at the Curb Event Center in Nashville in their final trip there as an OVC opponent.

After the regular-season meeting was postponed and unable to be rescheduled, Austin Peay and Belmont played for the only time during the 2020-21 season in the first round of the OVC Tournament with the Bruins picking up a 54-40 win on March 3, 2021, at the Ford Center.

Trailing by a dozen points with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Austin Peay closed the first half on a 17-2 run and led Belmont, 27-24, at halftime. However, the Govs were unable to hang on late in the second half and the Bruins pulled away for a four-point victory.

Kasey Kidwell and D'Shara Booker led the Governors with nine points each, Booker also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Ella Sawyer and Brandi Ferby each scored five points and dished out a team-high three assists.

Destinee Wells led the Bruins with 23 points, going 7-9 from the free-throw line -- APSU went just 5-7 from the charity stripe as a team. Conley Chinn added eight points and four rebounds, while Tuti Jones scored five points and grabbed a team-high six boards.

Notably…

• Austin Peay is looking to beat Belmont for the first time since a 72-59 win on Jan. 15, 2015, at the Winfield Dunn Center in Clarksville.
• The Governors are looking for their first win at the Curb Event Center since a 58-56 win on Dec. 18, 2011, in Belmont's final season in the ASUN before joining the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay is looking for its first-ever OVC win on the road at Belmont.
• The Governors and Bruins are playing their first regular-season contest since a 69-49 Belmont win on Feb. 8, 2020 -- 706 days ago.
• Belmont is ranked 16th in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Bruins are the only ranked OVC team and are the first ranked opponent the Govs will play this season.
• Through 13 games, Austin Peay is shooting 45.9 percent from the floor as a team, which ranks second in the OVC. The Governors have not shot over 45 percent from the floor in a season since the 2002-03 team set the single-season program record by shooting 47.4 percent.
• Austin Peay is the only team in the OVC with a positive scoring margin (+10.5), rebounding margin (+3.4), and turnover margin (+1.0) this season.
• The Governors rank second in the OVC in scoring defense (57.7 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (.381), and three-point percentage defense (.270). Austin Peay is the only team in the league that ranks in the top two in all three defensive statistics.
• Austin Peay's defense held ten-straight opponents under 70 points to start the season and has only given up 70 points once. The Governors have held four opponents under 50 points and six opponents under 60 points this season.
• The Govs are averaging 6.3 made three-pointers per game and are shooting 33.9 percent from three-point range -- both of which rank second in the OVC.

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 to host a pair of games when it takes on Eastern Illinois at 1:30 p.m., Saturday and SIUE at 6 p.m., Monday in the Winfield Dunn Center. The Governors then hit the road for two OVC games, traveling to UT Martin, Jan. 20, and Tennessee State, Jan. 22.