Austin Peay Lady Govs Basketball picked Fifth in OVC Preseason Poll

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Women’s Basketball

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay women’s basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the preseason Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball poll, as selected by the league’s head basketball coaches and sports information directors.

The Lady Govs, who returns four starters and eight letterwinners, received 47 points. Austin Peay finished behind reigning OVC champion UT Martin, which received 129 points and 19 first-place votes to earn the top pick in the division. The Skyhawks were followed by Eastern Illinois (113 points), SIU Edwardsville (86), Murray State (77), Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri (39).

Senior forward Leslie Martinez is the team’s leading scorer by point total (245 points, 7.9 ppg) while senior forward Meghan Bussabarger is the team’s scoring average leader (9.2 ppg, 231 points).

APSU’s schedule features seven teams that reached the 2012 postseason, including Louisville and Vanderbilt which both reached the NCAA Tournament’s second round. The Lady Govs will play in the OVC West Division which includes four teams that qualified for the OVC Tournament and a fifth, SIU Edwardsville, that would have qualified if it was eligible (final year of reclassification to Division I).

OVC East Division

Tennessee Tech was picked to win the OVC’s East Division, receiving 15 first-place votes and 121 points. They were followed by Eastern Kentucky (108 points), new league member Belmont (86), Morehead State (69), Tennessee State (68) and Jacksonville State (40).

Lady Govs Absent From OVC Preseason Squad

For the first time since 2008-09, Austin Peay women’s basketball team did not have a player named to the OVC’s 10-member preseason squad. Eastern Illinois had three players selected to the team while UT Martin had two players picked. Eastern Kentucky, Murray State, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech each had one player on the list.

New Divisions

With the addition of Belmont for the 2012-13 season, the Ohio Valley Conference will move to divisional play for both the men and women’s basketball regular-season schedules. Austin Peay was placed in the West Division along with Murray State, which will be its travel partner.

Rounding out the division are UT Martin, Southeast Missouri, SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois. The East Division will be comprised of Belmont, Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State.

Big Challenge

The race for the OVC West Division crown promises to be an all-out battle. Four teams that qualified for the 2012 OVC Tournament came from the division and a fifth, SIU Edwardsville, would have qualified if it was eligible. In addition, seven of the league’s 10 Preseason All-OVC selections will play in the West Division during the 2012-13 season.

In recent history, the league’s regular-season champion in five of the last six seasons has been a team now located in the West Division.