Austin Peay vs. Western Kentucky
Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 | 12:00noon
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – After an electrifying victory over East Tennessee, Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team will host familiar nonconference foe Western Kentucky at noon, Saturday, in the Dunn Center.
The Governors and Hilltoppers have met on 20 occasions prior to Saturday’s contest, with WKU holding a 16-4 lead in the series.
In addition, this will be the fourth consecutive meetings between the two programs.Austin Peay hopes to continue its momentum coming off a 77-74 win over the Buccaneers, Wednesday, which featured senior forward Beth Rates hit the go-ahead shot with seven seconds remaining.
She finished with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds), while senior center Tearra Banks (25 points, eight rebounds) and redshirt sophomore guard Falon Baker (17 points, five threes) also were in double figures.
The Govs closed the game 5-of-5 on shot attempts, and totaled a 62.5 shooting percentage in the final period en route to scoring 26 points.
It was the fourth home victory for APSU and 13th in the David Midlick era. Saturday’s game will be the 100th game for Midlick as a collegiate head coach.
Western Kentucky
After reaching the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) last season, the Hilltoppers return four starters for the 2016-17 season. Headlining this year’s team are Kendall Noble and Tashia Brown, who return as WKU’s leading scorers at 18.1 and 17.5 points per game, respectively, last season.
WKU has opened the current campaign at 4-3, with Brown (15.4), Noble (15.0) and Ivy Brown (14.4) leading the team in scoring. The Lady Toppers are coming off a one-sided victory over OVC member Eastern Kentucky, 90-63, with the trio combing for 44 points.
Michelle Clark-Heard is in her 5th season at WKU, currently holding a 107-35 record.
Last Time Against the Hilltoppers
WKU earned an 88-69 victory over the Governors on December 5th last season in Bowling Green. The Govs had five players produce double-digit scoring outputs, led by Tiasha Gray‘s 17 points, but Tashia Brown had 21 points to lead the Hilltoppers to the win.
APSU Storylines
Banks nearing 1,000
Senior center Tearra Banks currently has 986 career points, just 14 away from becoming the 19th member of the 1,000 points club.
Rates climbing the charts
Senior forward Beth Rates moved to fifth in career blocks with 95, passing Sonja Cox. She is now seven away from tying Joanne Arnold for fourth place.
Baker for three
Falon Baker returned from injury last season and lit it up front deep, hitting 48 threes with a 37.5 percentage. This season, she has knocked down 10 shots behind the arch, including five against ETSU, Wednesday.
Junior point guard Bri Williams has solidified her stance as the team’s floor general, having played over 35 minutes in the last four games.
She has also provided additional offense from the position, including scoring a career-high 13 points against St. Bonaventure, while also finding open teammates.
Williams posted eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Wednesday’s game.
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) and live audio on WAPX 91.9 FM. Saturday’s game can also be streamed for free on www.OVCDigitalNetwork.com