APSU Sports Information
Evansville, IN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team could not overcome their road woes so far this season, falling in a close one to Evansville, 56-52, Tuesday, at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
The Governors (5-6) were led by Myah LeFlore’s career-high 15 points, but could not overcome a subpar shooting night.
The Govs had to utilize a different gameplan as leading scorer and rebounder Arielle Gonzalez-Varner did not play due to injury and the Govs’ other main inside player Kelen Kenol was limited with an injury of her own.
As a result, the Govs came out firing, with their first three shots being three-pointers. The Purple Aces (2-8) eventually limited the number of open looks from behind the arc as the half wore on and got all of their production from basically two players. Brooke Bishop scored the Purple Aces’ first seven points before Marley Miller hit back-to-back threes as the Govs trailed, 15-14, after the first quarter.
Evansville used a 10-2 run at the start of the second quarter to lead by as many as eight points before buckets from Nieja Crawford and LeFlore broke the run. However, the Govs only shot 28 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 50 percent from the Purple Aces. The Govs were doing a good job in denying Kerri Gasper, Evansville’s leading scorer and rebounder, easy shots, but Miller and Bishop combined for 20 of Evansville’s 32 first-half points.
The Govs could only force two turnovers in the first half, while only committing three turnovers themselves, but they were costly as Evansville scored off all three turnovers. The Govs went into the break down eight, 32-24.
The game teetered on the brink of getting out of range for a Govs comeback as Evansville scored a quick four points to go up 12 before Brandi Ferby and Keisha Gregory each hit three-pointers to cut the lead back to six. LeFlore then stepped up even more, as she scored six of the next eight points for the Govs. The Govs made eight of their first 10 shots to start the third period, even taking a 42-40 lead off a one-handed shot by Crawford in the paint. The 18-4 run was sparked by LeFlore’s nine points in the quarter, but the Govs went into the fourth still trailing by two.
The fourth quarter started very promising for the Govs, as Crawford ripped the ball away from an Evansville player and laid it back up for two to tie the game and then Brandi Ferby hit a three to put the Govs up 52-49 with just under seven minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Govs, they did not score the rest of the way, missing their final 13 shots. The Govs got good looks, but the ball wouldn’t drop, with the ball spinning in and out several times as the Govs fell narrowly.
APSU Notably
LeFlore scored a career-high 15 points.
The Govs are now 11-9 all-time against the Purple Aces.
While the Govs won the turnover battle by two, the Purple Aces scored more points off turnovers.
Crawford has recorded at least 10 rebounds in her last three of five games. Crawford also tied a career-high with four assists.
Despite being 5-1 in the Dunn Center this season, the Govs are still looking for their first road victory.
APSU Head Coach David Midlick’s Musings
“We had a lot of energy and effort in the third period making a comeback and even taking the lead and I also thought we had a lot of good shots at the basket in the fourth and they just didn’t fall. There were many times when it was a one possession game and we had about five threes that just rattled out when they were wide open shots. Our defense gave us a chance in the fourth quarter and that’s all you can ask. It’s tough to win games when you shoot in the low 30’s and 25 percent from three, but our effort was definitely there tonight.”
Next Up for APSU Basketball
The Govs do not play again until January 3rd, 2019 in the new year as they take on Eastern Kentucky at home to open Ohio Valley Conference play.
