Austin Peay (0-1 | 0-0 OVC) vs. Pikeville (1-0 | 0-0 MSC)
Friday, November 12th, 2021 | 6:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – Looking to pick up win her first win as head coach, Brittany Young leads the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team into its Friday home opener against Pikeville in the Winfield Dunn Center. Tip-off is at 6:00pm.
However, they dropped a back-and-forth battle to Evansville, 52-62. Transfers Yamia Johnson and Karle Pace led Austin Peay State University with 14 points each in the opener, while redshirt junior D’Shara Booker grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the way on the glass.
The Governors’ home opener, as well as all home games this season, will be broadcast on ESPN+.
About the Pikeville Bears
After a sixth-place finish in the 2020-21 regular season and a quarterfinal loss to No. 3-seed Lindsey Wilson in the Mid-South Conference Tournament, head coach Clifton Williams enters his sixth season at the helm of Pikeville women’s basketball. In his first five seasons, Williams has led the Bears to five-straight MSC Tournaments and a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances.
Senior Mary Englert is the Bear’s top returning scorer, she averaged 13.8 points per game and shot 40.6 percent from the floor in 18 games last season. In the season opener against Miami-Hamilton, Englert poured in a team-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Pikeville freshman Leeanna McNulty matched Englert’s 21 points in the season opener and grabbed nine rebounds of her own. Sophomore Morgan Stamper scored 19 points and pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds to post a double-double against Miami-Hamilton. Bailey Frazier and Georgia Sideri scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, to round out the double-figure scorers for the Bears.
Senior guard Hailey Free also led Pikeville with a dozen assists in 29 minutes against Miami-Hamilton as the Bears 49.4 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three-point range in the season opener.
Last season, Pikeville averaged 72.5 points per game, while holding opponents to 68.5 points per contest. The Bears shot 42.1 percent from the floor and 32.5 percent from three-point range, while averaging 40.7 rebounds per game with a plus-5.4 rebounding margin in 2020-21.
Series History
Friday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay and Pikeville.
APSU Notably
Brittany Young, the 12th head women’s basketball coach in Austin Peay history, will make her Winfield Dunn Center debut when the Governors host Pikeville, Friday.
Austin Peay State University has won four-straight home openers in the Dunn Center, a win against Pikeville would match a five-game winning streak from 2000-04 as the longest winning streak in home openers in program history.
The Govs pulled down 52 rebounds in the season opener at Evansville, November 9th, which is their best single-game performance since a 54-rebound outing against Brescia (12/6/14).
Lyric Cole was the only freshman to play for the APSU Govs in the season opener, posting eight points, seven rebounds, and a blocked shot in her collegiate debut.
Austin Peay State University has three of the Ohio Valley Conference’s top-eight active career three-point shooters with Karle Pace (2nd, 160), Maggie Knowles (4th, 153), and Yamia Johnson (8th, 123).
Yamia Johnson ranked fourth in OVC scoring (14.9 ppg) and was a First Team All-OVC selection at Jacksonville State last season, she is a Preseason All-OVC selection this season.
Karle Pace was a First Team All-OVC selection at Eastern Illinois in 2019-20, she ranked sixth in the league in scoring (15 ppg) that season and has ranked in the top ten in the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons.
Junior Ella Sawyer dished out a team-high 3.1 assists per game last season, she led Austin Peay State University in assists in seven of the 14 games she played in last season.
D’Shara Booker is the Govs top returning rebounder after averaging 6.1 rebounds per game last season; she also led APSU with a .603 field-goal percentage in 2020-21, which was good for the fifth-best single season mark in program history.
Tickets
Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the 2021-22 basketball season. Fans can purchase or renew their season tickets online at LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or by calling the Austin Peay State University Ticket Office at 931.221.PEAY (7329).
More information on season and single-game tickets can also be found online.
APSU Govs Online
For up-to-date news and information on Austin Peay State University Athletics, check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow along on Facebook. To keep up with the Governors women’s basketball team, follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GovsWBB). Live stats will be available during all home games and select road games at PeayStats.com.
In addition, all Austin Peay State University home games, OVC games, and select road games will be broadcast on ESPN+ this season, visit the women’s basketball schedule at LetsGoPeay.com for a complete broadcast schedule.
Next Up For APSU Women’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University women’s basketball will wrap up a quick two-game homestand when it hosts North Alabama for a Tuesday contest at 6:00pm in the Dunn Center.
The APSU Governors then travel to Butler for a 2:00pm, November 20th matchup at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, before traveling to Boca Raton, Florida for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, November 26th-27th.