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APSU Women’s Basketball takes on Tennessee Tech in first round of OVC Tournament

Austin Peay (15-14 | 10-8 OVC) vs. Tennessee Tech (20-9 | 12-6 OVC)

Thursday, March 7th, 2019 | 1:00pm CT
Evansville, IN | Ford Center

APSU Women's BasketballClarksville, TN – March. Two of the most things equated with it are rain and March Madness. Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team will look to focus on the latter, as they begin their quest for an Ohio Valley Conference Championship, taking on Tennessee Tech, 1:00pm, Thursday, March 6th at the Ford Center in Evansville, IN.

Austin Peay Women's Basketball begins OVC Tournament Thurday afternoon against Tennessee Tech. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Basketball begins OVC Tournament Thurday afternoon against Tennessee Tech. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors (15-14, 10-8 OVC), entering the tourney as the No. 5 seed, have reason to feel confident.

Keisha Gregory was just named First-Team All-OVC and the Govs’ opponent, No. 4 seeded Tennessee Tech (20-9, 12-6 OVC), is one that APSU handed a loss to earlier this year.

In fact, the Govs’ 72-65 road win over the Golden Eagles on the last day of January was the first loss Tennessee Tech had suffered at home all season.

The last weekend of the regular season was also an eventful one for the Govs. With an 80-60 road win over Eastern Kentucky, head coach David Midlick won his 100th career game as a collegiate head coach. The Govs then almost completed an improbable comeback against Murray State in the regular season finale, trimming a 19-point deficit to two points twice inside the final minute, but the Racers held on, despite Brianah Ferby’s season-high 21 points.

About the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles are one of the OVC’s biggest surprises. Picked seventh in the OVC Coaches Poll and ninth in the OVC Media Poll, the Golden Eagles finished in fourth, a season that included defeating Belmont on the road, ending their almost three-year OVC winning streak. For their efforts, Kim Rosamond was named 2018-19 OVC Coach of the Year and also placed sharpshooter Jordan Brock on the First-Team All-OVC.

The Govs got a strong performance from Ferby in the game against Tennessee Tech earlier this year as well. Ferby scored 20 points, a season-high at the time, on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Interestingly enough, Ferby’s four highest scoring totals this season have all came on the road. The Govs were in full control of the game throughout most of the second half until a late rally from TTU put some fright into the Govs. Brock, who was relegated to the bench for most of the game dealing with foul trouble, led the Tech charge.

Down 11 with a couple minutes left, Tech trimmed it to four and had the ball while down four at one point, but Ferby hit two big free throws to lift the Govs to a win.

Brock is the main source of offense for the Golden Eagles, scoring 12 points per game and also being one of the league’s leading three-point threats. Her late triples gave her 10 points against the Govs, making that her 11th straight game in double figures, but she has only scored over 10 points twice in the last nine games.

Kentoria Alexander, a do-it-all guard for Tech, will also be a player the Govs key in on. Alexander averages nine points, six rebounds, four assists per contest, and led the Golden Eagles with 14 points in the meeting in January.

 

What’s At Stake

Win or go home, that’s the mantra of postseason basketball. The Govs are looking for their first OVC Tournament win since 2012, having lost in the first round in the previous three seasons. A win would also give the Govs their third straight win against Tennessee Tech, matching the longest streak in program history against them.

Follow APSU

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by the OVC and @AustinPeayWBB will tweet live updates.

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