Austin Peay (6-9) at Tennessee Tech (4-11)
Thursday, January 5th, 2017 | 5:30pm CT
Cookeville, TN | Eblen Center
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team begins its first Ohio Valley Conference road trip of the season, traveling to Tennessee Tech, Thursday, for a 5:30pm, tip-off at the Eblen Center.
The Govs are seeking their first conference win following narrow losses to Morehead State and Belmont – the only teams to open 2-0 in OVC play.
Austin Peay finished at 47.4 percent from the field, its fourth-highest mark of the campaign. Senior center Tearra Banks played another key role in the shooting category, going 6-of-11 for 17 points.
The Govs also had three additional players record double-digit point totals – senior forward Beth Rates (13), junior forward Sydney Gooch (13) and redshirt sophomore guard Falon Baker (10).
In the balanced scoring game, the Govs also cut down on their turnovers – matching their season-low with 11 – while also finding open teammates for 15 assists.
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
After serving nine years as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, Kim Rosamond has taken the reins of the Tennessee Tech program – her first head coaching position.
This season, the Golden Eagles are 4-11, including a 74-63 victory at Southeast Missouri in their conference opener. TTU then lost on the road at SIU Edwardsville, 60-49, putting them at .500 entering Thursday.
Two players average double figures for the Golden Eagles – Yaktavia Hickson (16.6 ppg) and Treyvonna Brooks (10.2). Hickson posted big numbers in the SEMO victory, shooting 13-of-23 from the floor for 30 points along with 12 boards. Meanwhile, Brooks has shown consistency, scoring 16 points in her last two games.
Last Time Against the Golden Eagles
In last season’s OVC matchup, Austin Peay defeated Tennessee Tech 91-75 in Clarksville. Highlighting the victory was another superb outing by Tiasha Gray (32 points, seven rebounds, seven assists), while Beth Rates and Brianne Alexander combined for 35 points. APSU also shot 82.9 percent from the free throw line (34-of-41).
APSU Storylines
Banks nearing another milestone
With her 17 points against Belmont, Banks is now 15 points away from passing Carrie Daniels for 14th place all-time in APSU scoring.
The Louisville native is also one double-digit performance away from having 10-straight games with 10-plus points.
Rates climbing the charts
Rates is now 13 blocks away from tying Ashley Haynes for third-most in program history, currently sitting at 106.
Squad depth
Against Morehead State, Austin Peay’s bench accounted for 39 of the team’s 71 points as 12 different players scored.
Twenty-straight for Gregory
Thursday’s game will be the 20th consecutive game played by sophomore guard Keisha Gregory.
If she starts the game, it will be her 16th-straight to be featured in the starting lineup.
Follow the APSU Govs
Be sure to follow all the Austin Peay women’s basketball action at www.LetsGoPeay.com and the official Facebook page of Austin Peay Athletics. In addition, live play-by-play coverage can be found on Twitter (@AustinPeayWBB), while fans can watch the game on www.OVCDigitalNetwork.com
