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HomeSportsAPSU Women's Basketball plays Chattanooga at the Dunn Center, Tuesday

APSU Women’s Basketball plays Chattanooga at the Dunn Center, Tuesday

Austin Peay (2-1) vs. Chattanooga (1-3)

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 | 4:30pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center

APSU Women's BasketballClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball is set to play its final scheduled home game of 2020 when they host in-state rival Chattanooga Tuesday night, December 15th, 2020, at 4:30pm in the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay State University Women's Basketball hosts in-state rival Chattanooga, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Women’s Basketball hosts in-state rival Chattanooga, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors dropped their first game of the season last time out, falling to Southern Illinois, 72-54, on the road in Carbondale, Illinois.

After Tuesday’s game against Chattanooga, Austin Peay State University will kick off Ohio Valley Conference play when they travel to Murray State for a 2:00pm, Saturday battle with the Racers.

The Govs will then wrap up 2020 when they take on Tennessee State in a 5:00pm, December 30th game.

About the Chattanooga Mocs

After a third-place finish in the Southern Conference regular season in 2019-20; Chattanooga was picked to finish second by the SoCon’s coaches and were picked to win the league by the media in the 2020-21 preseason polls. Head Coach Katie Burrows returns three starters and ten letterwinners from a team that posted an 11-18 (10-4 SoCon) record, before falling to the No. 7 seed Mercer in the SoCon Tournament quarterfinals.

Junior forward Eboni Williams was named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-Southern Conference Team, after averaging 10 points and 8 rebounds per game during her sophomore campaign. Wiliams also ranked second on the team with 47 assists last season, and led the Mocs with 40 steals.

Bria Dial was also named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-SoCon Team, the senior guard averaged  10.4 points per game last season and is the Mocs top returning scorer. Dial led Chattanooga from behind the arc a year ago, connecting on a team-best 48 three pointers.

The final returning starter for Chattanooga is junior forward Abbey Cornelius, who led the team with 29 blocked shots a season ago, and has already blocked 10 shots in four games this season.

Through four games this season, Chattanooga leads the SoCon in scoring offense (71.5 ppg), but they rank last in the league in scoring defense (79.5 ppg). Chattanooga leads the SoCon in field-goal percentage (41.5 percent) and ranks third in the conference in three-point percentage (32.5 percent); however, they are allowing their opponents to shoot 40.3 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from three-point range.

 

Series History

This is the 40th meeting in a series that dates back to 1977; Austin Peay State University trails in the all-time series, 8-31.

The last meeting between Austin Peay State University and Chattanogoa was on November 24th, 2019, when the Governors went on the toad and beat the Mocs, 50-49, in McKenzie Arena.

The Governors forced 28 turnovers and scored 24 points off Chattanooga turnovers in last year’s defense battle. Brandi Ferby led the Govs defense with four steals, and helped force Chattanooga’s then-leading scorer Eboni Williams to turn the ball over 10 times.

Arielle Gonzalez-Varner led APSU on the offensive end, scoring 18 points off the bench, while shooting 60 percent from the floor. Gonzalez-Varner also added 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists in the victorious effort.

The game came down to the wire, but the Governors were able to pick up their first win against Chattanooga since 1997 by putting together a few late defense stops and grabbing six offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to atone for a cold shooting day.

APSU Notably

Austin Peay State University has squared off Chattanooga 39 times in program history, which is more previous meetings than the Govs have with Ohio Valley Conference members: Belmont (20), Jacksonville State (18), and SIU Edwardsville (21).

After beating Chattanooga last season, the APSU Govs are looking to pick up back-to-back wins against the Mocs for the first time since the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

The Governors are averaging 77.3 points per game this season, which narrowly edges out Murray State (77.2 ppg) for the OVC’s top scoring offense this season.

Averaging 9.7 made three-point field goals per game, the APSU Govs rank 19th in the NCAA and lead the OVC.

Brandi and Brianah Ferby rank second and third in the NCAA, respectively, with assist-to-turnover ratios of 12 and 11 this season.

Through three games this season, Austin Peay State University freshman Nina De Leon Negron is shooting 68.4 percent from the floor — which leads the OVC.

Four different Governors are averaging double-digit points per game this season, led by Brianah Ferby, who ranks 11th in the OVC in scoring (14.7 ppg).

APSU Govs in the time of COVID-19

For the 2020-21 season, Austin Peay State University athletics will allow approximately 35 percent capacity in the Dunn Center for home basketball events. There will be no lower bowl seating for fans during the season. The lower level will be limited to players, coaches, and game-day support staff only.

Seats will be assigned to create a buffer between groups to ensure social distancing is maintained. Student seating will be located in sections AA-BB for both men’s and women’s games. Masks or facial coverings are required to enter the Dunn Center. They must remain in place at all times unless eating or drinking.

 

APSU Govs Online

Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay State University’s Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all Governor athletics, as well as the APSU Governor women’s basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayWBB). Live stats will be available during the game at PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on the ESPN+ app.

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