Austin Peay Lady Govs at Eastern Illinois Panthers
Saturday, January 18th, 2014 | 4:15pm CT
Charleston, IL | Lantz Arena (5,400)
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay women’s basketball team (4-13, 1-3 OVC) will seek its first back-to-back wins this season when it faces Eastern Illinois (7-9, 2-3 OVC) in a 4:15pm, Saturday contest at Lantz Arena.
Last time out, the Lady Govs ended a 10-game losing streak with a wire-to-wire, 83-75 victory at Morehead State, Monday. The victory also snapped a seven-game OVC losing streak that dated back to last season.Five of the seven Lady Govs that saw action scored more than 10 points as Austin Peay shot 47.5 percent from the floor as a team.
Sophomore Tiasha Gray did not start the Morehead State contest but responded to her first reserve role this season with a 19-point, six-steal outing. Junior Kristen Stainback had 17 points in the win while senior Nicole Olszewski chipped in an 11-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist effort – both Stainback and Olszewski played 40 minutes.
Eastern Illinois returns home after dropping both contests during last week’s action. The Panthers fell 61-46 at Jacksonville State before falling 64-54 at Tennessee Tech. Sabina Oroszova had a double-double in both contests, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds at Jacksonville State before a 17-point, 11-rebound effort at Tennessee Tech.
Austin Peay Lady Govs
Saturday’s affair is the second of three contests APSU will play in Illinois this season, it defeated Southern Illinois (71-69, November 12th) and will face SIU Edwardsville. With Monday’s win at Morehead State Austin Peay snapped a 10-game slide, its longest losing streak since the 1990-91 campaign.
Sophomore guard Tiasha Gray leads the Lady Govs in scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists (4.9 apg). Five APSU players have recorded a double-double this season, sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha leading the team with three (all in the last five games).
Austin Peay’s non-conference opponents have combined for a .550 win percentage this season and APSU’s non-conference strength of schedule ranks 59th according to WBBState.com.
Eastern Illinois Panthers
Eastern Illinois is 4-2 at Lantz Arena, including a 2-1 OVC mark with wins against Tennessee State and Eastern Kentucky.
Junior Sabina Oroszova is averaging a double-double (18.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg) this season with a league-best 11 double-doubles. Oroszova isn’t the only threat as junior Katlyn Payne (13.8 ppg) and senior Jordyne Crunk (12.5 ppg) also are averaging more than 10 points per game this season.
That trio accounts for over 70 percent of EIU’s offense.
Gray Explodes Off Bench
After back-to-back sub-par efforts, sophomore Tiasha Gray came off the bench for the first time this season at Morehead State, January 13th.
She responded to the challenge with an impressive 19-point, 6-steal, 3-rebound, 3-assist outing in 30 minutes of action.
Gray was 6-of-12 from the floor and made all 7 of her free throws, her first free throws made since December 18th against Chattanooga.
Olszewski Piles Up Helpers
She also had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals in a 40-minute outing.
Nwokocha Double-Double #3
For the third time in the last five games, sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha recorded a double-double, posting 14 points and 10 rebounds at Morehead State, January 13th.
Each of her three double-doubles have come since APSU returned from the Christmas Break.
Five For Ten
In Austin Peay’s win at Morehead State, January 13th, Lady Govs players scored more than 10 points in a single game. Sophomore Tiasha Gray (19), junior Kristen Stainback (17), sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha (14), freshman Beth Rates (13) and senior Nicole Olszewski (11) combined for 74 of APSU’s 83 points in the win.
It was the second time in 2013-14 APSU had five players in double figure scoring territory (Trevecca).
Broadcast Information
ipTV: www.OVCDigitalNetwork.com
Primary Radio: Governors Sports Network (Josh Stephenson, play-by-play)
Live Audio: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Live Stats: www.EIUPanthers.com