Brentwood, TN – Graduate student Karle Pace and senior Yamia Johnson, of the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team, were both named First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference for the second time in their careers, the league announced Tuesday.
Pace, who earned a First Team All-OVC nod during the 2019-20 season at Eastern Illinois, averaged 14.7 points and 2.6 assists per game, which ranks fifth and 14th in the OVC, respectively. Pace is also hitting 2.0 three-pointers per game, which ranks third in the OVC, and is shooting 41.1 percent from three-point range, which ranks fifth in the conference and 30th in the NCAA.
During conference play, Pace led the Governors and ranked sixth in the OVC in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game. She led the league in three-pointers made per game during conference action, averaging 2.2 threes per contest.
A two-time OVC Player of the Week, Pace scored a season-high 25 points in Austin Peay’s 70-68 win over Belmont, January 27th, in the Dunn Center. The Clarksville native also scored 23 points in a double-overtime win against Murray State, she was 5-for-5 from three-point range – which is tied for the best single-game three-point percentage in the OVC this season – and hit a game-winning floater with 1.2 seconds left in overtime.
Johnson picked up her second-straight first-team honors after being named First Team All-OVC at Jacksonville State last season. Johnson led the Governors and ranked fourth in the OVC in scoring this season, averaging 14.9 points per game. She also shot 81.1 percent from the free-throw line this season, which ranks sixth in the OVC, and shot 43.2 percent from three-point range, which ranks third in the league.
In OVC play, the Lexington, South Carolina native averaged 14.1 points per game, which ranked seventh in the league. Johnson also posted a pair of double-doubles this season, with a 15-point, 10-rebounds performance at Belmont, January 13th, and a 17-point, 11-rebound outing at Morehead State.
Johnson, a two-time OVC Player of the Week, scored a season-high 26 points in both of Austin Peay’s games against Eastern Illinois. Johnson started the season by scoring in double-figures in 16-straight games, making her the first Governor to post a streak that long since Tearra Banks recorded double-digit points in 23-straight games from November 27th, 2016 to February 18th, 2017.
Pace and Johnson are the 22nd and 23rd First Team All-OVC selections in program history and are the first since Keisha Gregory during the 2018-19 season. APSU has not had more than one First Team, Second Team, or All-Newcomer selection in the same season since the 2009-10 season, when Ashley Herring was a first-team selection and Nicole Jamen was a second-team selection.
Pace and Johnson are the first Austin Peay State University duo to receive First Team All-OVC honors in the same season since Gerlonda Hardin and Ashley Haynes in 2003-04.
Pace, Johnson, and the rest of the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team will be back in action when it plays a 1:00pm, Thursday, game in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament against either No. 5 Eastern Illinois or No. 8 Tennessee State. The No. 4-seeded Governors earned a first-round bye in their eighth-straight trip to the postseason.
For news and updates on everything APSU women’s basketball throughout the entire OVC Tournament, follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@GovsWBB) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
First Team All-OVC
Madison Bartley, So., F, Belmont
Yamia Johnson, Sr., G, Austin Peay
Anna Jones, Sr., F, Tennessee Tech
Tuti Jones, So., G, Belmont
Gabby Nikitinaite, Sr., G, SIUE
Karle Pace, Gr., G, Austin Peay
Macey Turley, Sr., G, Murray State
Lariah Washington, Jr., G, Eastern Illinois
Destinee Wells, So., G, Belmont
Katelyn Young, So., F, Murray State
Second Team All-OVC
Alexis Burpo, Sr., G, MUR
Jada Claude, So., F, MOR
Mackenzie Coleman, Sr., P, TTU
Hannah McKay, So., F, MUR
Paige Pipkin, Jr., G, UTM
OVC All-Newcomer Team
Gia Adams, Fr., G, TSU
Jada Claude, So., F, MOR
Shae Littleford, Fr., G, UTM
Gabby Nikitinaite, Sr., G, SIUE
Anna Walker, So., F, TTU
OVC Player of the Year: Katelyn Young, Murray State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Tuti Jones, Belmont
OVC Freshman of the Year: Gia Adams, Tennessee State
OVC Coach of the Year: Bart Brooks, Belmont