CONWAY, Ark. – Shamarre Hale went perfect from the field and recorded her second double-double of the season, leading Austin Peay State University women's basketball to a 64-53 ASUN Conference win against Central Arkansas, Thursday, at the Farris Center.

Hale went 7-of-7 from the floor in her 18-point, 11-rebound performance, becoming the first Gov to not miss a basket on at least five shots since D'Shara Booker went 5-for-5 from the field against Davidson in the Women's Basketball Invitational, March 20.

Austin Peay (10-6, 5-1 ASUN) earned its fourth-straight win of the season against Central Arkansas (6-11, 1-5 ASUN), its longest winning streak of the season and tied for the longest streak under by second-year head coach, Brittany Young. The win also marked the fifth time in program history that the Governors won five of their first six conference games.

A 4-2 Central Arkansas lead 64 seconds in was the final advantage of the night for a shorthanded Sugar Bears squad that was limited to just eight players. 

The Govs and Sugar Bears traded scores throughout the first quarter, with every other score bringing the two teams back to even.

After entering the scoring column midway through the first quarter, Hale scored APSU's final six points of the opening quarter, with the final giving APSU a 12-10 lead entering the second quarter.

The reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Week, Hale outrebounded the Sugar Bears herself in the game's opening 10 minutes, hauling in three of APSU's eight boards, while UCA was held to just two rebounds.

A Yamia Johnson three-pointer to open the second quarter gave Austin Peay the first multi-score advantage of the game at 15-10. The Sugar Bears trimmed their deficit back to three on the next possession, but a layup by Johnson followed by Liz Gibbs' first basket of the game gave the Govs a six-point lead less than two minutes into the quarter.

An Anala Nelson three-pointer extended Austin Peay's lead to 26-17 and, after UCA answered with a three of their own, the Columbia, South Carolina native drained her career-best second triple of the day to extend the Govs' lead back to nine.

Austin Peay's final four points of the first half came from the charity stripe, with the ASUN's second and third-best free shooters in Mariah Adams and Johnson both cashing in on a pair of attempts.

Johnson led all scorers with 10 points at the half. She was followed by Nelson's eight which already tied her career high set last week against Kennesaw State.

Gabby Zapata Smalls scored the second half's first points after grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds before scoring her second basket to put the Govs up 35-24. Austin Peay held on to its 11-point lead until a game-long 9-0 run by the Sugar Bears brought them within two points for the first time since the start of the second quarter.

Driving layups by Jada Roberson and Adams halted UCA's scoring run, but the Govs found themselves up just 45-41 entering the fourth quarter.

After the Sugar Bears brought the game back within a score on a quarter-opening basket, five-straight points by Hale directly followed by a Tiya Douglas triple put the Govs back up double digits with 6:22 to play.

The Sugar Bears trimmed their deficit to as few as five points at 55-50, but Austin Peay did not miss a shot from the field and went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe over the game's final two minutes to secure its 10th win of the season.

The Difference

Rebounding and Shamarre Hale. Austin Peay outrebounded Central Arkansas 37-17, including 11-4 on the offensive glass, but the story of the night was Hale's performance. The Jan. 12 ASUN Newcomer of the Week tallied a game-high 18 points and 11 boards in under 29 minutes of action on the court. She also shot an impressive 80 percent from the line, making four of her five attempts.

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Inside the Box Score

• Austin Peay earned its first four-game winning streak of the season in Thursday's win.
• Austin Peay improved to 2-2 all-time against the Sugar Bears and 84-71 against ASUN Conference opponents. 
• Shamarre Hale recorded her and the Govs' second double-double of the season in an 18-point, 11-rebound effort. Her 11 boards are the most by a Gov this season.
• Hale led APSU in scoring and rebounds for the sixth time this season.
• Anala Nelson scored a career-high 11 points in the win while also dishing out a career-high four assists.
• Nelson and Mariah Adams tied for a team-best four dimes in the win. For Adams. It was her sixth game with at least four assists this season, including her fourth in the last five games.
• Austin Peay scored 30 points in the paint for the ninth time this season.
• The Govs outscored UCA 30-24 in the paint, improving to 9-1 on the season when outscoring the opponent between the lanes.
• Austin Peay has won five of its first six conference games for just the fifth time in program history.
• APSU improved to 8-3 in games when its bench outscores the opponents, having outscored UCA's rotation, 22-4.
• The Govs scored at least 12 points in all four quarters for the fifth time this season.
• Johnson's second-quarter-opening three-pointer extended APSU's streak of consecutive games with a triple to 483 games.

Coach's Corner

With head women's basketball coach Brittany Young

Overall thoughts … "Overall, I look at the stat sheet and see four players in double figures, 11 total assists and the rebounding.. those things are important for success. Even with four players in double figures, a couple who have potential in Jada Roberson and Tiya Douglas may not have had their best offensive outings, but it still gives us confidence because we know they have the capability to do it every night."

On facing adversity… "We got faced with some adversity late in the third quarter and going into the fourth. I purposely did not call a time out so I could see how they would respond. I have to test my team sometimes because there may be situations where we do not have any timeouts. They have to learn how to calm themselves and compose themselves and revert back to all of their teachings. Overall, we withstood the storm. We did not take this team for granted. I have watched [UCA] play other teams in our conference and they always find a way to score."

On rebounding … "Our goal is to get plus-13 [offensive rebounds], so we were just two shy of that, but we won our overall rebounding goal which is a great thing, especially when we are shooting about 50 percent in two-point field goals. While there were not a lot of offensive rebounds to get, Shamarre Hale led the charge with 11 rebounds and that set the tone. Gabby Zapata Smalls had five offensive rebounds and seven total. They set the tone to where now the smaller guards just have to go in there and clean up the scraps after that."

On North Alabama… "It is going to be another scrappy dog fight. They are another team like Central Arkansas who plays better at home than they do on the road, which is like very team in the ASUN – we all like that home cooking. North Alabama is a five-out team. They are a pass and cut team and will knock down those three-point shots. If you have an incorrect close-out, they will drive the lane hard for a layup or another kick-out three. They have a brand and style of basketball that is true to their identity and it will be another fight. It will not be easy.

Up Next

Austin Peay faces North Alabama in a 5 p.m., Saturday contest at CB&S Bank Arena in Florence, Alabama.