CLARKSVILLE – For the fourth time this season, the Austin Peay State University women's basketball team held their opponent to 50 or less points, as the Governors beat Morehead State, 66-49, to pick up their second-straight Ohio Valley Conference win, Saturday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (9-4, 2-1 OVC) head coach Brittany Young picked up her first-career OVC win at home, as the Govs handed Morehead State (1-13, 0-4) its eleventh-consecutive loss. Yamia Johnson and Karle Pace led the Governors in scoring off the bench, posting 17 and 16 points, respectively, to help the Govs improve to 5-1 in the Dunn Center this season.

The Governors got on the scoreboard first, with Nina De Leon Negron converting a reverse layup after Ella Sawyer pulled down a pair of rebounds on the opening possession. Morehead State was able to answer the Govs' opening salvo on their first possession, with Jada Claude scoring the first two of her team-high 15 points to tie the game, 2-2, at the 8:41 mark in the first quarter.

With 8:10 left in the opening quarter, Lyric Cole scored her first two points of the game on a second-chance layup and gave the Governors a lead, 4-2, which they would not give up for the remainder of the contest.

With an 8-5 advantage at the 2:08 mark in the first quarter, Johnson and Pace drilled three-pointers on back-to-back Austin Peay possessions to build a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The start of the second quarter saw both squads go cold from the floor, with Morehead State's Alana Denson hitting a three-pointer at the 8:32 mark for the only field goal in the first four minutes of the period. After Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to get the Govs on the scoreboard in the quarter, Pace and Sawyer buried triples on two-straight possessions, and the Governors led by double-digits, 22-12, for the first time in the game with 5:23 left before halftime.

After the slow start to the period, the Govs offense found its rhythm and scored 18 points in the final six minutes before the half. A Shay-Lee Kirby triple with 2:56 left on the clock gave Austin Peay its biggest lead of the first half, a 14-point advantage, 29-15. The Eagles were able to trim the deficit to 11 points with 32 seconds left before the break, but De Leon Negron connected from three-point range with five seconds left in the half and the Govs led, 34-20.

It was another slow start from the floor for the Governors in the third period, with Kasey Kidwell converting a pair of free throws for Austin Peay's only points in the first three minutes of the quarter. Leading 36-24 at the 6:49 mark in the third quarter, Kidwell converted the old-fashioned three-point play to give the Governors a 15-point.

After a pair of Claude free throws cut the Govs advantage to 13 points, Austin Peay went on a 12-4 run that lasted just 4:17 and built a 21-point lead, 51-30, with 1:49 left in the third period. After the Governors built their largest lead of the game, Morehead State closed the third quarter on a 4-0 run and Austin Peay held a 51-34 lead after 30 minutes of action.

The Govs went back up by 20 points at the start of the final quarter, with Sawyer connecting on her second triple of the day to go ahead, 54-34. With 4:13 left in the game, Denson knocked down another three-pointer to bring the Eagles back within 13 points, 62-49. However, that is as close as Morehead State would get; the Governors closed the game on a 4-0 run with Sawyer converting a layup and Pace knocking down a pair of free throws with 2:05 left on the clock for the final points in the contest, sealing a 17-point victory for the Govs.

The Difference 

The Austin Peay bench. The Governors reserves outscored Morehead State, 37-19. Austin Peay brought its top-two scorers off the bench, with Johnson and Pace scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively. D'Shara Booker rounded out the bench scoring for the Govs, adding four points in 12 minutes of action.   

From the Twitterverse

Notably 

• Dating back to 2019, Austin Peay has won 11-straight games against teams from the state of Kentucky.
• Austin Peay won its fourth-straight game against Morehead State and now leads the all-time series, 42-41.
• The Govs four-game winning streak against the Eagles is its longest winning streak in the series since a five-game streak from 2003 to 2005.
• The Governors won their second-consecutive OVC game and head coach Brittany Young picked up her first conference win in the Dunn Center.
• Morehead State outscored Austin Peay, 13-9, in points off turnovers and the Govs won for the first time this season when scoring fewer points off turnovers than their opponent.
• Austin Peay held its opponent to 50 points or less for the fourth time this season, the Govs are 4-0 in those games.
• The Governors improved to 6-0 this season when they hold their opponent to less than 60 points.
• Austin Peay held Morehead State to just 15 made field goals, which matches the 15 field goals the Govs allowed against UT Southern, Dec. 21, as the lowest single-game total by an opponent this season. 
• Austin Peay outrebounded Morehead State, 42-31, and improved on 5-2 this season when it wins the battle on the boards.
• The Govs outscored the Eagles, 26-8, in the paint and improved to 9-1 this season when they score more points in the paint than their opponent.
• Yamia Johnson led the Govs in scoring for the seventh time this season with 17 points, she has scored in double-figures in 13-straight games to begin her Austin Peay career.
• Karle Pace scored 16 points off the bench; she has scored in double-figures in 10 of the 11 games she has played in this season.
• Ella Sawyer scored 11 points, posting her second game in double-figures this season.
• Sawyer did a bit of everything for the Govs, recording six rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
• Nina De Leon Negron led the Governors on the glass for the second time this season and matched her career-high with eight rebounds.
• De Leon Negron also dished out five assists, leading the Governors in helpers for the ninth time this season.
• Lyric Cole also pulled down eight rebounds, she has led Austin Peay on the glass a team-high nine times this season.
• D'Shara Booker grabbed six rebounds in just 12 minutes of action, which is her best single-game performance since she pulled down nine rebounds at Butler, Nov. 20.

Quotably, Coach Young

Opening thoughts… "I think Christmas break is a big point for teams. What I mean is that sometimes you are playing some good basketball before Christmas and you come back after the break wanting to keep that same momentum, but it's almost like you have to recharge your team. On top of that, we have been dealt a blow where we have some players that are in and out, and I think we are a team that is still trying to find itself. Like I told the team, those are lessons that you want to learn while still continuing to win, so it is great to start 2022 with two wins.

On where the Govs can improve… "All around. I think defensively we have some quarters where we give up seven points or so and we think we are a team that can do that for multiple quarters in the course of the game. The way that some of our opponents are scoring, we want to clean that up. Offensively, we have got to continue to find our rhythm and tempo together, and that comes with chemistry.

On Karle Pace and Yamia Johnson… "I think they probably have always been that [go-to scorers]. They are two veteran players in the league. They are two players that are proven in this conference. I think the difference for them is that they have teammates that on any given night can also lead us in scoring. So, I think it is not taking that weight of having to force bad shots and understanding how to play in a system, when to take shots, and when to get other people involved. That lets them be more of playmakers instead of just scorers."

Up Next 

Austin Peay makes the quick trip to Nashville for a 5 p.m., Thursday contest against league-leading Belmont at the Curb Event Center. The Governors then return home to host a 1:30 p.m., Jan. 15 game against Eastern Illinois and a rescheduled 6 p.m., Jan. 17 game against SIUE in the Dunn Center. For news and updates on everything Governors women's basketball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GovsWBB) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.