Lady Govs use strong second half to cage Gamecocks

APSU Women’s Basketball

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team used a strong second-half effort to post a 65-54 come-from-behind victory against Jacksonville State, Saturday night, in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Dunn Center.

After making just nine first-half field goals and trailing 32-31 at halftime, Austin Peay (7-14, 6-3 OVC) made 15 field goals in the second frame and scored 34 points. More importantly, the Lady Govs held Jacksonville State (7-13, 4-5) to just seven second-half field goals and 22 points.

Austin Peay opened the second half with a 10-4 run to build a 41-36 lead less than five minutes into the period. Junior Jasmine Rayner made the Lady Govs first two field goals of the half and senior Darcie Warner, sophomore Meghan Bussabarger and junior Shyra Brown each added another field goal.

The Lady Govs pushed the lead to 10 points, 52-42, courtesy junior Whitney Hanley’s three-point field goal at the 7:29 mark and did not look back. A 7-0 run later in the game built APSU’s advantage to a game-high 16 points, 65-49, with one minute remaining. The Gamecocks scored the game’s final five points to set the final score.

Jacksonville State controlled the first half, piecing together a 14-5 run to build an 18-10 lead with 9:11 remaining. Austin Peay went 8:32 without a field goal during JSU’s run, scoring its five points at the free throw line.

The Lady Govs battled back in the half’s final 6:13, using a 9-0 run to tie the game, 25-25, with 3:15 remaining. It was APSU’s bench that led the comeback, seniors Salem Richardson and Darcie Warner combining for all nine points during the burst.

Austin Peay held brief one points leads twice in the final three minutes, but could not hold on to either as Jacksonville State made a pair of bank shots, including the final shot by junior Zenobia Pitts that gave JSU a 32-31 halftime lead.

Bussabarger recorded her season’s second double-double, leading Austin Peay in both scoring (12) and rebounding (11). Rayner added 11 points, including a 7-of-11 effort from the free-throw line.

Two nights after the bench scored just two points in a loss to league-leading Tennessee Tech, the Lady Govs reserves combined for 27 points against Jacksonville State. Senior Dalila Thomas led the bench effort with 10 points, making 5-of-6 from the field. Richardson added nine points and Warner chipped in six points.

Jacksonville State’s Candice Carmine led all scorers with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Destiny Lane added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double effort. Pitts finished with 10 points.

Austin Peay returns to road play with a 4:15pm (CT), Thursday contest at Eastern Kentucky.