Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team was unable to overcome 29 turnovers and fell to Gardner-Webb, 62-58, Thursday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.
Graduate student Yamia Johnson and senior Jada Roberson combined for 27 points and 50 percent from the field in front of the 1167-person crowd – the largest home attendance in nearly three seasons.
Austin Peay (3-4) did not allow a Gardner-Webb (5-2) point in the first four minutes, and held the Runnin’ Bulldogs to just one made field goal in their first 10 attempts to take an early, 4-0 lead.
Gardner-Webb’s second field goal gave it a 9-8 lead with under two minutes remaining in the first quarter, but a driving layup by Johnson and Anala Nelson free throw gave APSU an 11-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
The ASPU Govs outscored the Runnin’ Bulldogs 10-0 in the paint in the first quarter, but eight first-quarter turnovers kept the Govs from extending their lead to multiple scores following a game-opening 4-0 run.
Sophomore Kaiden Glenn answered back-to-back GWU scores to open the second quarter with her first-career old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 14.
After being held to two makes in the opening quarter, Gardner-Webb’s offense came out strong in the second, making seven of its first 10 shots from the field.
After trading scores, Austin Peay State University answered a 10-2 Gardner-Webb run with six-straight points to trim its deficit to 26-24 with 1:38 remaining in the half. GWU then made back-to-back attempts from the free-throw line followed by jumper in the paint to regain a six-point lead before Johnson made APSU’s first three-pointer with 7.1 remaining. The Runnin’ Bulldogs took a 30-27 lead into the half after a last-second shot from midcourt hit the top of the backboard.
Despite a game-high 58.3 percent from the field in the second quarter, the Govs were outscored in it, 21-16.
Graduate student Mariah Adams opened the second half with her second basket of the afternoon to bring the game within one, but APSU suffered over a four-minute scoring drought following Adams’ score.
Senior Ashlei Kirven, who made her Austin Peay debut against GWU, ended the Govs’ scoring drought with her first basket before the penultimate quarter’s media timeout.
Nelson scored her lone three of the afternoon to trim Gardner-Webb’s lead to 38-37 with 3:38 remaining, before a pair of free throws by senior Tiya Douglas later in the period gave the Govs a 42-41 lead – APSU’s first lead since the start of the second quarter.
Roberson pick-pocketed GWU’s Jhessyka Williams on the Runnin’ Bulldogs proceeding possession and finished an easy layup to give APSU a three-point lead with under a minute remaining. Gardner-Webb answered Roberson’s score with a second-chance layup with nine seconds remaining.
Gardner-Webb opened the final quarter with a pair of free throws before four-straight points by Roberson regained APSU’s three-point advantage. Roberson’s second shot sparked five-straight lead changes with neither team able to separate from the other. It was not until a pair of free throws by Johnson following the media timeout, that either team led by more than one point.
Johnson’s makes from the charity stripe – her 25th and 26th of the season – gave APSU a 54-51 lead with 4:33 remaining, but were answered by five GWU points.
Kirven made her second shot of the afternoon tied the game at 56– the eighth tie of the day – with 3:01 remaining in the fourth and ended five-straight APSU misses from the field.
Gardner-Webb regained the lead on a pair of free throws, but neither team made a shot from the field until Shamarre Hale made her third basket to tie the game at 58 with 36 seconds remaining.
Austin Peay State University fouled Williams 13 seconds later, who split her attempts from the line, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs grabbed the miss which brought another APSU foul.
Gardner-Webb’s Ki’Ari split her free throws, but the APSU Govs were unable to answer on the other end of the court, as Douglas’ three-pointer was blocked. The Runnin’ Bulldogs extended their lead to four following the block to secure the win.
The Difference
Second-chance points. Gardner-Webb scored 18 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points while limiting APSU to eight and six, respectively.
Inside the Box Score
Austin Peay State University fell to 1-1 all-time against Gardner-Webb and 5-1 against the Big South Conference.
APSU’s attendance of 1167 was its most since 1607 fans cheered on Austin Peay State University against Murray State, on February 13th, 2020.
The loss ended a nine-game home winning streak and was APSU’s first nonconference home loss since December 15th, 2020 against Chattanooga.
Yamia Johnson led APSU in scoring for the fourth time this season with 17 points. The 17 points also were the fourth-most by a Gov this season.
Ashlei Kirven scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in her Austin Peay State University debut.
Kaiden Glenn made her first-career free throw on a second-quarter three-point play.
Jada Roberson finished second on the team with 10 points – her second double-digit scoring performance as a Gov.
APSU’s bench outscored GWU’s, 27-5 – its most in a game this season.
APSU’s .468 field-goal percentage is its second most this season and its most since hitting 51.7 percent from the field in the season opener against Gardner-Webb.
Coach’s Corner
With head women’s basketball coach Brittany Young
Opening thoughts… “We have to continue to grow and get better. There are a few situational things that happened at the end that I will take accountability for. We knew that Gardner-Webb crashes the boards, but giving up 18 offensive rebounds is still too many and was very critical. We are going to continue to grow and get better from this.”
Looking ahead to Duke… “We are going to hit rebounds drills for 30-45 minutes every day at practice this week. We are going to get after it on the glass and get better.
Next Up For APSU Women’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team travels to Durham, North Carolina for its lone Power Five opponent of the 2022-23 season in Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on December 8th. The Blue Devils are 7-1 this season and are receiving votes in the Associated Press Coaches Poll.
