APSU Sports Information
Evansville, IN – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team fell to SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Thursday.
The Govs came off a dominant performance against Murray State on senior night, but could not continue the offensive performance early against the Cougars.
The Govs struggled from the field, but Arielle Gonzalez-Varner and Falon Baker turned some momentum back in favor of Austin Peay midway through the first quarter.
The Governors could not maintain the offensive presence through the second quarter, fighting against a hot-handed Cougar squad. After the halftime break, Austin Peay continued to push through the third quarter, getting a 24-point lift from the bench in the second half.
The Govs defensive pressure slowed down the Cougars in the final period, as Austin Peay outscored SIU Edwardsville 17-11, with freshmen Myah LeFlore and Kelen Kenol scoring five and four points respectively. The Govs forced SIU Edwardsville into six turnovers in the final quarter, but the offensive push came much too late for the Govs, as they fell in the opening round 76-43.
Brianne Alexander led the Govs with seven points and four rebounds, with Arielle Gonzalez-Varner posting six points and three rebounds, shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Bri Williams once again led the Governors in the assist column, racking up four assists to go along with her two points and a pair of rebounds.
The bench effort was the story for the Govs, as Myah LeFlore scored seven points, with Nieja Crawford and Shelbe Piggie each adding a half dozen points. Crawford also picked up two steals.
Game Notes
Austin Peay had the most regular season wins (16) since the 2003-04 season.
The Governors also had the second winningest season since the Govs record setting 2003-04 season.
Austin Peay forced the Cougars into 15 turnovers.
The Govs scored 25 bench points against SIU Edwardsville.
Four different Govs recorded blocks against the Cougars: Alexander, Keisha Gregory, Kelen Kenol and Jemiah Harrison.
David Midlick’s Musings
Rapid Reaction
“I thought we had three good days of practice leading up to today, but I give a lot of credit to Paula and SIUE. They are one of the tougher, more physical teams in this league; however, just last week I thought we played them fairly well up there at their place. We tried to make a few adjustments on what hurt us in that game and felt good about this game going into it.”
Season Reflections
“When the sting from this game settles and wears off, we will go back and look on the accomplishments of this season, but right now, this is a difficult game for us to swallow.”
Wrapping Up
The Govs conclude the 2017-18 season with the most regular season wins since 2003-04, posting the first winning season since 2008-09.
