Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team rallied back from a lackluster first-half performance, but could not hold on and suffered a 69-65 Ohio Valley Conference loss to Jacksonville State, Monday night at the Dunn Center.
APSU sophomore Tiasha Gray entered the game and hit back-to-back three pointers, cutting the deficit to three points in less than a minute on the court. Yet JSU responded with an 8-2 run and led by nine points with 11:51 left.
Jacksonville State (9-14, 5-5 OVC) continued to press forward. Bria’unna Buckner’s three-pointer at the 6:33 mark pushed the Gamecocks lead to 10 points for the first time in the contest. The JSU lead would briefly hit 13 points after a pair of Cadance Morton free throws before settling at 11 points, 40-29, at halftime.
The Lady Govs offensive malaise continued into the second half. Austin Peay committed five turnovers on its first nine possessions and quickly trailed by 18 points, 54-36, with 13:29 remaining.
But with 10:49 remaining, Austin Peay found its rhythm offensively, piecing together an impressive 16-0 run. Senior Nicole Olszewski was responsible for 12 points during the run, her jumper with 6:25 left capping the burst and giving APSU its first lead of the contest, 57-56.
Jacksonville State scored six of the next seven points –four coming courtesy four points by Briana Benson – to build a four-point lead with 3:59 left. Austin Peay bounced back with seven of the game’s following nine points, Gray converting a conventional three-point play to give APSU a 65-64 lead with 1:16 left.
Yet that would be Austin Peay’s final points of the contest. Jacksonville State got a pair of free throws from Morton and a traditional three-point play from Benson to secure the lead and the win.
Gray led Austin Peay with her second consecutive 20-point outing. Olszewski scored 16 points, all in the second half.
Sophomore Jennifer Nwokocha and freshman Tearra Banks each recorded double-doubles. Nwokocha finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Banks had a 11-point, 13-rebound performance.Morton led Jacksonville State with 23 points. Benson chipped in 17 points while Destany McLin added 12 points.
Austin Peay closes out its three-game homestand with a 7:00pm, Thursday contest against Murray State.
Box Score
Jacksonville State vs Austin Peay
Monday, January 27th, 2014 | 7:00pm
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Jacksonville State 69
| Total | 3-point | Rebounds | ||||||||||||
| ## | Player | p | fgm-fga | fgm-fga | ftm-fta | off-def | tot | pf | tp | a | to | blk | stl | min |
| 22 | MCLIN, Destany | f | 5-13 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 |
| 42 | CANTRELL, Miranda | c | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-10 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| 02 | BENSON, Briana | g | 7-14 | 2-7 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 30 |
| 03 | NAUGHTON, Kelly | g | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 04 | MORTON, Candace | g | 6-12 | 3-7 | 8-10 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 36 |
| 05 | HORTON, LeCresha | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | JAMES, Destiny | – | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 23 | BUCKNER, Bria’unna | – | 2-4 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 50 | BROWN, Sydney | – | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | 0-4 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals………….. | – | 24-55 | 7-18 | 14-18 | 3-28 | 31 | 17 | 69 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 200 | |
| 43.6% | 38.9% | 77.8% | ||||||||||||
| Team summary: | FG | 3FG | FT | |||||||||||
| 1st Half: | 15-32 | 5-13 | 5-6 | |||||||||||
| 46.9% | 38.5% | 83.3% | ||||||||||||
| 2nd Half: | 9-23 | 2-5 | 9-12 | |||||||||||
| 39.1% | 40.0% | 75.0% | ||||||||||||
Austin Peay 65
| Total | 3-point | Rebounds | ||||||||||||
| ## | Player | p | fgm-fga | fgm-fga | ftm-fta | off-def | tot | pf | tp | a | to | blk | stl | min |
| 21 | NWOKOCHA, Jennifer | f | 7-9 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 5-5 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| 14 | RATES, Beth | c | 1-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
| 04 | STAINBACK, Kristen | g | 0-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 05 | OLSZEWSKI, Nicole | g | 7-17 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 40 |
| 44 | SCOTT, Jacey | g | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 29 |
| 01 | GRAY, Tiasha | – | 6-16 | 3-5 | 5-6 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| 25 | BANKS, Tearra | – | 4-9 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 5-8 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | 2-1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals………….. | – | 25-64 | 5-13 | 10-16 | 15-32 | 47 | 13 | 65 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 200 | |
| 39.1% | 38.5% | 62.5% | ||||||||||||
| Team summary: | FG | 3FG | FT | |||||||||||
| 1st Half: | 11-35 | 3-8 | 4-7 | |||||||||||
| 31.4% | 37.5% | 57.1% | ||||||||||||
| 2nd Half: | 14-29 | 2-5 | 6-9 | |||||||||||
| 48.3% | 40.0% | 66.7% | ||||||||||||
| Score by Periods | 1st | 2nd | Total | |
| Jacksonville State | 40 | 29 | 69 | Record: (9-14 (5-5 OVC)) |
| Austin Peay | 29 | 36 | 65 | Record: (7-14 (4-4 OVC)) |
| Points in the paint-JSU 8,APSU 32.Points off turnovers-JSU 20,APSU 12. |
| 2nd chance points-JSU 8,APSU 9.Fast break points-JSU 0,APSU 2. |
| Bench points-JSU 7,APSU 31.Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-4 times. |
| Last FG-JSU 2nd-00:18, APSU 2nd-01:16. |
| Largest lead-JSU by 18 2nd-13:29, APSU by 1 2nd-06:25. |
| Officials: Troy Winders, Jody Cantrell, Kevin SelfTechnical fouls: Jacksonville State-None. Austin Peay-None.
Attendance: 545 Austin Peay Player of the Game: Nicole Olszewski |
