Clarksville Times

Austin Peay State University women's basketball team held Stetson to 30 percent from the field to earn a 50-46 ASUN Conference victory, Saturday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (7-6, 2-1 ASUN) did not allow a three-pointer in the second half and held Stetson (7-9, 1-2 ASUN) to just seven makes on 28 attempts from the field in the final 20 minutes. The Govs also held the Hatters to just 20 second-half points, tied for APSU's best defensive performance in a second half this season.

The Hatters jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game's first minute, but the early advantage was answered by five-straight points by Jada Roberson, with the final – coming on a three-point play – being the first of nine lead changes of the afternoon.

After Stetson's Jamiya Turner answered Roberson's with her second basket, back-to-back three-points by Yamia Johnson and Tiya Douglas gave the Govs a five-point lead with 4:40 remaining.

Anala Nelson was the fourth Gov to enter the scoring column, with her jumper in the paint giving APSU its largest lead of the game at 13-7 following the opening quarter's media timeout. 

Austin Peay had its lead trimmed to three following an 8-4 Hatters' run to end the quarter and held a 17-14 advantage to begin the second.

Nelson opened the second quarter with her sixth three-pointer of the season, but it was followed by a four-minute scoring drought that brought Stetson back within one with 6:40 remaining in the half.

After a free throw by Gabby Zapata Smalls and another make from deep by Johnson, the Hatters held APSU scoreless over the final 4:38 of the second half, scoring eight-straight points and leading 26-24 at the break.

Stetson scored 10 of its 12 second-quarter points off nine APSU turnovers and outscored the Govs 8-0 in the paint in the quarter.

The game's penultimate quarter featured three lead changes and as many ties.

A perfect, 2-2 trip to the charity stripe by Douglas two and half minutes into the third quarter trimmed the Govs' deficit to two and was followed by the Fort Smith, Arkansas native's second three-pointer to give APSU a 30-29 lead with 6:09 remaining in the frame. The advantage was its first since 1:16 in the second quarter.

After the media break, Shamarre Hale converted her first of two three-point plays to put APSU up 33-31 with her later coming two minutes, extending the Govs' lead to 36-33. The two teams traded scores to end the quarter and were tied at 38 entering the final quarter.

In one word, the Govs' fourth-quarter defense was stifling.

Austin Peay held the Hatters to 18.7 percent from the field over the 10 minutes and scored as many points from the charity stripe and Stetson did in the quarter altogether (eight).

Stetson led 41-40 with 7:21 remaining after Khamya McNeal split a pair of free throws, but it was the final time the Hatters would lead in the game, as scores by Roberson and Hale put the Govs back in front at the media break.

The Hatters answered a pair of Liz Gibbs free throws with a layup with 1:21 remaining to trim their lead to 48-46, but were unable to get past the Govs' defense, missing their final two shots from the field which were secured by Johnson and Douglas, respectively, who both split their attempts from the line to secure APSU's seventh win of the season and second in ASUN play.

The Difference

Rebounding. Austin Peay's plus-13 rebounding margin was its second-best of the season, trailing only a plus-14 outing in the season opener against Cumberland, Nov. 7.

Inside the Box Score

• Saturday's win was Austin Peay's first ASUN Conference home win and first against Stetson.
• Austin Peay improved to 3-1 against first-time opponents this season, including 2-0 in ASUN play.
• The Governors improved to 81-71 against ASUN Conference opponents.
• The Governors have won 22-straight games and 26 of their last 27 when holding opponents to under 50 points. The Govs are 7-0 under head coach Brittany Young when accomplishing the feat.
• Jada Roberson made her first start as a Governor against the Hatters.
• Roberson led APSU in scoring for the second-straight game and third time this season.
• Saturday's starting five of Roberson, Anala Nelson, Ashlei Kirven, Yamia Johnson and Tiya Douglas was the Governors' eighth starting lineup this season.
• Johnson's three-pointer with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter extended APSU streak of consecutive games with a three to 480 games.
• Johnson's 10 rebounds were tied for the most by a Gov this season.
• No APSU student-athletes reach double digits in scoring. It is the first time the Govs have won such a game in the digital record-keeping era.
• APSU's .302 field-goal percentage allowed was its second-best performance this season, ahead of only Cumberland's .265 mark.
• The Govs improved to 7-1 this season when shooting better from the field than their opponent.

Coach's Corner

With head women's basketball coach Brittany Young

Opening thoughts… "I am thankful for a win ,especially after seeing some of the results across the ASUN. Being 2-1 in conference play at this point keeps us in position where we are not falling too far behind early. If we would have finished these first three games with zero or even one win can put you in a position where you are already having to claw back to get in the race. Overall, we defended home court which is what you have to do in this league. The number that pops out after this game, though, is turnovers. We want to continue to get that down so that we can be a more successful team overall. We had 33 shot attempts and shot pretty well. Outside of that fourth quarter, we really did shoot a solid amount. We just have to get ourselves a few more opportunities by cutting down on those turnovers."

On the balanced scoring.… "It is something we have talked a lot about. We have a team that, on any given night, have the ability to score for us. As we continue to trust each other more and understand that we don't need a superheroes and just take what the game gives us, we will start to see more balance consistently across the board and will have more players that reach double figures as well."

On the defense… "One of goals in ASUN play was to hold opponents to 52 points or less. To do that, we have to limit teams to 10-12 points max per quarter and we did that in the last three quarters tonight. Our eight points allowed in the fourth quarter really made up for the 14 points we allowed in the first. We are locked in defensively. I am proud of our effort and how we are competing to hold teams to that threshold. The team is locked into the gameplan and defending at a high level and I am very pleased with that."

Looking ahead to Jacksonville State… "Pace of play is going to be important. Jacksonville State is a team that gets up and down the floor. They push tempo in transition. When we sit down after that game and talk about the things that were instrumental in winning and if we did or did not do those things, first and foremost it will be the turnovers. It is going to come down to our transition defense too. It cannot be a game that we give up a lot of  transition points in. Lastly, it's going to come down to the points in the paint. They are a team that wants the paint and wants to establish themselves there. It is going to be a physical and scrappy game." 

Up Next

Austin Peay hosts Jacksonville State in a 5:30 p.m., Jan. 12 game in the Winfield Dunn Center. The game is the second of a season-long three-straight home games.

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