Clarksville, TN – A team-high 25 points from Yamia Johnson led the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team to its largest win in nearly two decades, as the Governors earned an 81-35 victory in its season opener against Cumberland, Monday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.
The 46-point victory is the most since a 48-point win against Tennessee State, February 15th, 2003. The win also was the APSU Govs’ sixth-straight in home openers – the longest streak in program history.
After Austin Peay (1-0) and Cumberland combined for just 10 points (7-3) at the first quarter’s media timeout, the Govs scored 17 points in the final 5:07 and held Cumberland to just two points and without a field goal for the remainder of the quarter.
Johnson led the Govs’ offense with seven points after the first 10 minutes, while Gabby Zapata Smalls’ nine rebounds helped solidify APSU’s defense that held the Phoenix to 1-for-12 from the floor in the frame.
Jada Roberson found Mahogany Vaught on the wing for a three-pointer early in the second quarter to extend the Govs’ lead to 22. Vaught then connected on her second shot from deep to make it 30-7 APSU with 7:29 remaining in the opening half.
After Vaught forced a jump ball on Cumberland’s end with five seconds remaining in the half, Liz Gibbs found Jada Roberson who hit a deep three at the buzzer to give APSU a 46-14 advantage heading into the locker room.
Nearly half of Austin Peay State University’s 17 first-half shots came from three-point range, with the Govs connecting on eight of 17 from deep through the first two quarters.
Smalls grabbed her 10th rebound of the night after Cumberland missed its opening shot of the second half, and scored APSU’s first points of the half on a layup on a pass from Mariah Adams.
Cumberland answered Smalls’ basket with a 4-0 scoring run – its best of the night – and trimmed its deficit to 29 following a fast break layup with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter. Austin Peay State University hit three of its next four baskets and back-to-back free throws to extend its lead to 35 points – its largest at the time.
The Phoenix had their best offensive quarter in the third quarter, but the Governors were still able to hold Cumberland to just 12 points and led 61-26 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The APSU Govs built their largest lead of the afternoon in the fourth quarter, extending their advantage to 48 points after Gibbs’ made a free throw with 2:05 remaining in the contest. Cumberland later scored the game’s final points with 1:36 remaining on a layup.
The Difference
Efficiency. Austin Peay State University shot 57.1 percent from the field and limited Cumberland to just 26.5 percent on the afternoon, including 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Govs hit over 50 percent of their baskets in three quarters, while the Phoenix did not eclipse a 33.3 field-goal percentage in a single quarter.
Inside the Box Score
Austin Peay State University broke the program record with its sixth-straight win in its home opener, surpassing a streak of five-straight home-opener victories from 2000-04. The Governors have won by an average of 30.5 points per game in its six-game streak.
Austin Peay State University held Cumberland to just 35 points, which is the second-fewest points allowed in a single game in the modern era of the program. The 1976-77 team holds the record for the fewest points allowed, having held Milligan to 29 points in an 88-29 win on Dec. 15, 1976.
The APSU Govs 46-point victory is its most since a 48-point win against Tennessee State, on February 15th, 2003 (93-45).
With the win, Brittany Young became the fifth head coach in program history – and the first since Andy Blackston (2003-04) – to win their first two home openers.
Mahogany Vaught’s six steals are the most by an APSU Gov since Brandi Ferby’s seven steals against Eastern Illinois, January 19th, 2019.
Coach’s Corner
With head women’s basketball coach Brittany Young
Opening thoughts… “This was a solid start to the season. I won’t say that I am completely satisfied, because it is a process. Our goal is to continually improve over time. I liked our effort throughout the entire game tonight… A couple of stats that popped out to me were 19 assists and 13 steals. Collectively, we are all buying into playing together which is the ultimate goal.”
On Yamia Johnson… “She was aggressive tonight. She missed time during the offseason, and because of that she has had to do more to get herself back in the rhythm which means extra time in the gym and more conditioning, weights and shots. Tonight, I believe she made up in her mind that she wanted to be aggressive and because she did that, her numbers reflected. Most of her scoring was in the pace of the offense.”
On the defense… “One of our goals is to hold teams under 10 points in each quarter. For us to come out and set the tone by holding them to five points in the first quarter, and keeping them to under 10 in the second and fourth, that is how you get to numbers like 35 points allowed… We tied the scoring record can be broken one day, but maybe that record can be broken soon. We have to be a team that hangs their hat on defense and rebounding. As the season progresses, hopefully we will continue to improve in those areas.”
Looking ahead to Chattanooga… “I am happy that we renewed that game with Chattanooga because they are not far from us. The regional opponents are always fun games for fans to come out to. They have a new coach, Shawn Poppie, who comes from Virginia Tech. I have a lot of respect for him and his background. I am expecting his team to be hungry, fiery, and ready to get a win on their home court. This will be a game that tests our veteran group and help us prove ourselves. We are not going to be back home until December, so we have to get road tested to be who we are.”
Next Up For APSU Women’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team begins a five-game, 24-day road trip with a Saturday 6:00pm game against Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena. The APSU Govs then travel to Nashville for a November 17th, 6:30pm game against Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium.
