Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team broke a second-half tie with 18 unanswered points en route to a 79-70 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Tennessee Tech, Saturday afternoon at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (7-13, 4-3 OVC) extended its win streak to four games, its longest win streak since February 17th, 2011.The Lady Govs also won a home conference game for the first time since the end of the 2011-12 campaign, ending a 10-game home OVC losing streak.
The Lady Govs led 37-36 to start the second half and pushed the lead to three points on freshman Beth Rates layup. Tennessee Tech bounced back with the game’s next five points and led 41-39 with 18:12 remaining.
However, Austin Peay would score the game’s next 18 points in a five-minute span. Five different Lady Govs scored during the run, sophomore Tiasha Gray and junior Kristen Stainback leading the charge with six points each. Tennessee Tech did hit a free throw to end the run, but Banks hit a layup at the other end to give APSU a 59-42 lead with 12:48 left.
Tennessee Tech (7-13, 4-3 OVC) did not disappear and put together a pair of runs to narrow the deficit. The Golden Eagles first used a 10-4 run, with Molly Heady supplying five points, to trim the APSU lead to 10 points, 67-57, with six minutes left.
The lead remained near 10 points for the next four minutes. Tennessee Tech put forth its last charge in the final two minutes, an 8-2 burst in which Diamond Henderson scored all eight TTU points. Her three-pointer with 30 seconds left cut the APSU lead to five points, 75-70.
However, Austin Peay would make all four of its free throws down the stretch to set the final margin.
The first half was a see-saw affair with nine lead changes and four ties. Tennessee Tech scored the game’s first six points for its largest lead of the contest, 6-0, just 2:08 into the contest.
Gray and Stainback each finished with 20 points to pace the Austin Peay offense. Banks recorded her third double-double with a 13-point, 13-rebound performance in which she was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor. Senior Nicole Olszewski finished with 10 points and a game-best six assists.
Austin Peay made 50 percent (28-of-56) of its field goals, including a season-best 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range. The Lady Govs also owned a dominating 45-39 rebounding edge.
Henderson led Tennessee Tech with 25 points, including 16 in the first half. Candace Parson posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double outing while Heady finished with 11 points.
Austin Peay continues its three-game homestand when it hosts Jacksonville State in a 7:00pm, Monday contest.