CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Trailing by two with under two minutes to play, Mariah Adams found Yamia Johnson in the left corner who made the three-pointer, drew the foul and converted the go-ahead four-point play to lead Austin Peay State University women's basketball team to a 65-59 ASUN Conference victory against Kennesaw State, Saturday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.
Johnson's four-point play – her second of the afternoon – was Austin Peay's (9-6, 4-1 ASUN) penultimate field goal in a fourth quarter in which it shot 89 percent from the field in to secure its fourth ASUN Conference win and avenge an earlier loss to Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-2 ASUN) this season.
Austin Peay's defense held Kennesaw State without a field goal on its first five attempts and led 5-0 after a Tiya Douglas three-pointer less than three minutes into the game.
Kennesaw State trimmed the Govs' lead to 5-3 on its first make in six attempts; however, it was its only shot in the game's first seven minutes.
Johnson's first four-point play came after the Owl's first make, as the Lexington, Carolina native sank her first triple of the game while falling back after taking contact from a KSU defender.
After an offensive foul by the Owls, Douglas made APSU's third three-pointer in two minutes, giving it a 12-3 lead at the quarter's media timeout. A pair of free throws by Anala Nelson out of the break gave the Govs the first double-digit lead of the day at 14-3.
A shot by Johnson over a trio of Owls' defenders put the Govs up 16-5, but it was answered by a 6-0 KSU scoring run to end the quarter.
Austin Peay made all three of its attempts from three and at the charity stripe in the opening quarter, and held KSU to 26.7 percent from the field.
Gabby Zapata Smalls and Liz Gibbs opened the second quarter with a pair of two-point baskets in the first 90 seconds of the quarter.
Kennesaw State took advantage of five-straight misses and three turnovers, by APSU and went on a game-best four-minute, 11-0 run to take its first lead with 3:52 remaining.
Nelson's first basket ended APSU's scoring drought, brought the first of nine ties in the game, and sparked a two-minute, 8-0 APSU run. The Owls cut into its deficit and trailed 28-26 at the end of the first half.
The Owls retook the lead after holding APSU to one make on its first three attempts of the second half and looked to take its first multi-score advantage of the game before Shamarre Hale swatted away a layup attempt for her second block of the afternoon and scored a pair of second-chance points on the other end of the court.
Nelson gave Austin Peay a 38-34 lead with 3:27 remaining in the third on a basket in transition, but it was answered by six-straight points by the Owls.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Hale her third basket to tie the game at 40 with 37 seconds remaining and proceeded to draw a foul on KSU's succeeding possession, grab her second offensive board and lay it in at the buzzer to shift momentum – and the lead – back to Austin Peay to end the third quarter.
Just as they did in the fourth quarter in a 71-67 win against Murray State, Dec. 13, the Govs missed just one shot in the game's final 10 minutes and outscored the Owls 14-6 between the lanes.
The Govs maintained the lead throughout the first half of the final quarter, leading by as many as six points after a pair of scores by Jada Roberson. A pull-up jumper by Roberson, however, was answered by eight-straight Owls' points.
The Owls trailed 53-50 with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter before KSU's Jah'Che Whitfield drained just her team's second three-pointer to tie the game at 53. KSU's final points of its 8-0 run came on a mid-range jumper by Whitfield.
A driving layup by Roberson was answered by a perfect trip to the free-throw line by the Owls, giving them a 57-55 advantage with 2:29 left.
With just over two minutes remaining, Adams drove right from the top of the key causing a pair of Owls' defenders to close in on her, with another pair standing in the paint to guard a rolling Hale who had made four of her five shots from the floor.
There were four Owls and two Govs in the paint, meaning that two Govs had to be open. The first one that Adams saw? Johnson, who had just taken position in the left corner.
Adams fired a two-handed pass to Johnson, who immediately shot it and absorbed contact from a leaping Owl trying to block the attempt. Johnson fell to the court, with her shot hitting nothing but net as she did, giving the Govs a 58-57 lead with a free throw pending.
The Govs' leading scorer made her attempt at the line, becoming the first player in program history to convert multiple four-point plays in a game. And what a play to do it on.
Johnson extended Austin Peay's lead to 61-57 after another unblemished trip to the charity stripe, with Hale then answering a pair of KSU points on her fifth score of the game.
Despite a pair of offensive boards the Owls, they were unable to best APSU's defense over the game's final 41 seconds and intentionally fouled Nelson, who went to the line for her seventh and career-best eighth points of the game, for the game's final scoring.
The Difference
Yamia Johnson's go-ahead four-point play with 1:51 remaining gave Austin Peay the momentum it needed to complete the comeback and earn it fourth ASUN Conference win of the season.
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Inside the Box Score
- Austin Peay improved to 3-3 all-time against Kennesaw State and 82-71 all-time against ASUN Conference opponents.
- With her 29th win at Austin Peay, Brittany Young passed Austin Peay Hall of Fame head coach Susie Gardner (1996-98) for the fourth-most wins in their first two seasons at the helm of the program. Young is two wins from passing Andy Blackston (2003-05) for third all-time and five from Pam Davidson's current record of 34.
- Austin Peay earned its 599th all-time win and 341st in the Winfield Dunn Center in Saturday's victory.
- Mariah Adams had a season-high eight assists, tied for the most by a Governor since APSU alumna Brandi Ferby dished out nine assists against Murray State, Feb. 16, 2019.
- Adams' accounted for a team-best 28 points, despite scoring just six points. The Little Rock, Arkansas native assisted on all four of Austin Peay's three-pointers including both of Johnson's four-point plays, and four two-pointers.
- Austin Peay's .545 field-goal percentage was its highest this season, trailing only a program-record .606 percentage against Queens, Jan. 2.
- Austin Peay outscored KSU 36-22 in the paint, including 24-12 in the second half. Austin Peay is 8-1 when outscoring its opponent in the paint this season.
- Anala Nelson scored a career-high eight points.
- Yamia Johnson became the first player to convert two four-point plays in a single game in program history.
- Johnson reached double figures in scoring for the eighth time this season. The Govs are 6-2 when Johnson scores at least 10 points this season.
- Austin Peay's .889 fourth-quarter field-goal percentage was its second-most in a single quarter this season and trails only a .917 mark in the fourth quarter against Murray Stte, Dec. 13.
Coach's Corner
With head women's basketball coach Brittany Young
Opening thoughts… "It was a big win for us tonight. We defended home court which was our job today. We knew this was going to be tough… We talked about finishing the job today and being tough and I think we were exactly that for 40 minutes and found out how to grind out the win."
On the team's paint presence … "It is our identity; it is who we are. We did a great job of establishing ourselves. [Shamarre Hale] did not get as many opportunities as she did against Jacksonville State, because teams are starting to key in on her, but the thing that I love that will start to open things up for her is that Yamia Johnson got herself going tonight and Tiya Douglas was very consistent, as she has been throughout Conference play for us. When you add those two and their outside shooting, now we give ourselves the ability to be a very dangerous team."
On Yamia Johnson… "She had a lot of confidence to take [what was her second four-point play]. Sometimes when things are not going well, the way you respond is the ultimate sign of toughness. After the Jacksonville State game, I was a little worried about how she may respond, but I knew she was going to be okay when I walked in the locker room and saw that she had a smile on her face. She told me 'I don't care that I did not score, we still won the game.' That was a big sign of maturity in her… She was getting shots up with confidence pregame and at halftime and helping players like Tiya with their shot. I hope this is a game that will help catapult her moving forward, because she is a big piece for us."
Looking ahead to next week's games… "It is difficult to go on the road in the ASUN. We are talking about two teams [Central Arkansas and North Alabama] that play very well on the road. They are two teams that are going to want to get themselves going and continue or improve runs they are on. North Alabama had a rough stretch where they played Florida Gulf Coast twice, so now they are going to look to scrap and claw their way back in… Mental toughness is especially needed in a Saturday game after playing on Thursday because you need to understand the scout and the game plan because you cannot physically do as much as you would with two days of prep. I am looking forward to us beign tested and seeing how they respond. These young ladies know that myself and our staff are going to challenge them every single day to come in and be locked in."
Up Next
The Governors hit the road for back-to-back road game against Central Arkansas and North Alabama. Austin Peay opens the road trip with a 7 p.m., Jan. 19 game against Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas before facing the Lions in a 5 p.m., Jan. 21 at CB&S Bank Arena in Florence, Alabama.
