CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's basketball team will kick off its eighth-straight trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship when it plays its first-ever postseason game against in-state rival Tennessee State at 1 p.m., Thursday, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

The fourth-seeded Governors received a bye to the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament. Eighth-seeded Tennessee State beat fifth-seeded Eastern Illinois, 72-61, in the first round of the tournament, Wednesday, to advance to the quarterfinals.

Austin Peay is 0-2 in neutral site games this season and has never played a neutral site game against Tennessee State in the 42-year series' history.

The Governors dropped their final two games of the regular season to SIUE and Eastern Illinois and enter the OVC Tournament on a two-game losing streak. Prior to Tennessee State's win against Eastern Illinois, the Lady Tigers had lost eight-straight games and 11 of their last 12 contests.

The winner of Thursday's game between Austin Peay and Tennessee State will advance to play top-seeded Belmont at 1 p.m., Friday. In Wednesday's other first-round action at the OVC Tournament, No. 7 seed SIUE beat No. 6 seed UT Martin, 86-86, and will advance to play No. 3 seed Murray State at 3:30 p.m., Thursday.

Thursday's OVC Tournament game against Tennessee State will be streamed on ESPN+.

Scouting the Lady Tigers

Picked to finish last in the OVC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, Tennessee State bounced back to finish eighth in the conference with a 6-12 mark in league play and an 11-18 mark overall. Second-year head coach Ty Evans has led the Lady Tigers to their first OVC Tournament appearance since 2016 and their first OVC Tournament win since they won the 2015 OVC Tournament Championship.

Tennessee State ranks third in the NCAA in steals (381), sixth in steals per game (12.7), and sixth in turnovers forced per game (22.7) -- it leads the OVC in all three categories. The Lady Tigers also rank second in the OVC in blocked shots, averaging 3.4 per game.

Tennessee State struggles from behind the arc, where they rank last in the OVC in three-point percentage (.255), three-point percentage defense (.348), and three-pointers per game (3.9).

The Lady Tigers are led in scoring by Tatyana Davis, whose 13.5 points per game rank 10th in the OVC this season.

Tennessee State also has the OVC Freshman of the Year, Gia Adams, who ranks 12th in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. Adams does a little bit of everything for the Lady Tigers, she ranks 13th in the conference in assists (2.7 apg), 10th in steals (1.7), and 13th in three-pointers made per game (1.3).

Dominique Claytor, who ranks 24th in the OVC in scoring (9.7 ppg), sixth in rebounding (5.9 rpg), and third in steals (2.5 spg), will miss the remainder of Tennessee State's season after suffering a season-ending injury earlier in the year. With Claytor sidelined, Saniah Parker is the Lady Tiger's top defender. Parker averages 2.2 steals per game, which ranks fourth in the OVC, and 0.5 blocked shots per game, which ranks 13th in the conference.

Series History and Lasting Meeting

The 69th meeting in a series that dates back to 1980, Austin Peay leads the all-time series, 48-20, and is on an eight-game winning streak against Tennessee State. Thursday's game will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the Governors and Lady Tigers.  

Austin Peay posted its second-consecutive game of holding an opponent to 40-or-less points and 13-or-less made field goals when it beat Tennessee State, 57-37, on Feb. 12, 2022, at the Winfield Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Karle Pace knocked down a trio of three-pointers and led the Govs with 12 points, she also dished out a team-high five assists and grabbed a season-high six rebounds. Ella Sawyer scored 10 points, she also pulled down nine rebounds -- a season-high and one of her career-high -- to lead the Governors on the glass.

Tatyana Davis led Tennessee State with 11 points. Elise Harden added a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Lady Tigers.

Austin Peay won the turnover battle and only turned the ball over 18 times while forcing TSU to commit 19 turnovers. The Govs also outscored the Lady Tigers, 16-6, in points off of turnovers.

Notably…

• With Austin Peay is making its eighth-straight trip to the OVC Women's Basketball Championship in its final year before joining the ASUN Conference.
• Austin Peay has secured its third-straight winning season and its fifth-straight without a losing record.
• Austin Peay's 18 wins match the 2019-20 team for the most wins in a season since the 2003-04 team won 23 contests during its OVC Championship season.
• The Govs' 11 OVC wins are their best single-season mark since the 2010-11 team won 12 OVC games.
• Thursday's game will be the first-ever OVC Tournament matchup between Austin Peay and Tennessee State.
• Austin Peay's eight-game winning streak against TSU is its longest active streak against an OVC opponent.
• Austin Peay is shooting 45.4 percent from the floor -- which ranks 15th in the NCAA and 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 single-season program record by shooting 47.4 percent.
• Austin Peay ranks third in the OVC in scoring defense (59.6 ppg), third field-goal percentage defense (.393), and second three-point percentage defense (.291) -- the Govs are the only team in the OVC that ranks in the top three in all three categories.
• The Govs are shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range, which ranks 13th in the NCAA and leads the OVC, and are averaging 6.3 made three-pointers per game, which ranks second in the OVC.
• Yamia Johnson and Karle Pace are averaging 14.9 and 14.7 points per game, respectively, and rank fourth and fifth in the OVC in scoring. They are the only teammates in the top six in the league in scoring.
• Pace is shooting 41.1 percent from three-point range, which ranks 30th in the NCAA and second in the OVC.
• D'Shara Booker and Lyric Cole are shooting 64.2 and 63.0 percent from the floor, respectively, and rank first and second in the conference this season.

Tickets, Please

All-session tickets for the OVC Basketball Championships at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, are on sale for $80 online or by calling the Austin Peay Athletics ticket office at 931-221-PEAY (7329). Single-session tickets are also available for $15, there are two sessions per day at the tournament.

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

The winner of Thursday's game between Austin Peay and Tennessee State will advance to the semifinals of the OVC Tournament where they will take on No. 1 seed Belmont in a 1 p.m., Friday contest.