Austin Peay (0-1) at Evansville (0-0)
Sunday, November 16th, 2014 | 1:00pm CDT
Evansville, IN | Ford Center
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay women’s basketball team begins the road portion of its 2014-15 slate with a 1:00pm, Sunday contest against Evansville that also will mark its first visit to the Ford Center.
Austin Peay junior guard Tiasha Gray scored a career-high 37 points in the loss, accounting for more than APSU’s offensive total.
But it was Wright State’s 56-45 rebounding edge that proved the difference, particularly its 23 offensive rebounds that it turned into a 20-6 edge in second-chance points.
Austin Peay will see sophomore center Tearra Banks return after serving a one-game suspension due to a violation of athletics department rules. Her presence will bolster a frontcourt that was outrebounded and could not find an offensive rhythm, as Wright State outscored the Lady Govs 28-18 in the paint.
APSU returns four starters among 10 letterwinners from last season’s squad. That group includes the Lady Govs top five in both scoring and rebounding. Despite the large number of returnees, the projected APSU starting five includes one senior, two juniors and two sophomores – still a relatively young squad.
About the Purple Aces
Evansville was picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference’s preseason poll, its best preseason pick since 2008-09… The Purple Aces return sophomore guard Sara Dickey, the MVC Co-Freshman of the Year and a Preseason All-MVC pick, who averaged 17.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.
Senior forward Mallory Ladd also returns after averaging 12.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game en route to All-MVC honorable mention recognition… Those two are among four starters and six letterwinners returning from last season’s team which finished 10-8 in the MVC and received a berth in the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Last Season’s Meeting vs. Evansville
After opening the game making 9 of its first 18 shots and building a 19-11 lead, Austin Peay closed the first half making just 4-of-18 to trail 32-28 at halftime.
Evansville used a 14-4 run in the second half to build a double-digit lead that Austin Peay could not chip into the rest of the way.
Tiasha Gray led APSU with a 14-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist outing… Sara Dickey paced Evansville with 19 points while Mallory Ladd added a 17-point, 10-rebound effort.
An Austin Peay Win Would
Snap a seven-game losing streak carried over from the 2013-14 season… End an eight-game losing streak to nonconference opponents… Snap a two-game losing streak to Evansville… Be its first win at Evansville since December 15th, 2001, ending a two-game losing streak… Improve Daniels’ record to 89-158 overall… Make the Lady Govs 442-631 overall since 1976-77.
An Austin Peay Loss Would
Extend its losing streak to eight games… Be its ninth-straight nonconference loss… Be its third straight loss to Evansville, its longest losing streak in the series… Be its third straight loss in Evansville… Drop Carrie Daniels’ record to 88-159 overall… Make the Lady Govs 441-632 overall since 1976-77.
Next Up
Grand Canyon | 11:00am, Saturday
Austin Peay will have an early wakeup call for its next outing, an 11:00am, Saturday contest against Grand Canyon in the Dunn Center. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in any sport.
