Brentwood, TN – Six Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball greats, including head coach Susie Gardner, were named to the Ohio Valley Conference 75th Anniversary Women’s Basketball Team, Monday.
The 2022-23 academic year marked the 75th anniversary of the Ohio Valley Conference. As part of the celebration of the league’s storied accomplishments, a committee working with current and former schools captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport and marked the top athletes in league history with the 75th Anniversary Teams across all OVC sports.
The Governors six student-athletes selected to the OVC’s 75th Anniversary Team are tied with Eastern Illinois and Murray State for the third most, while Gardner was one of seven coaches recognized by the league.
Altogether, Austin Peay State University’s six selections combined: 112 coaching victories, 12 All-OVC selections, two OVC Athletes of the Year, two OVC Players of the Year, two OVC Freshmen of the Year, three athletes and a coach that were a part of the OVC’s longest winning streak the first OVC women’s basketball athlete drafted to the WNBA, APSU’s top three – and five of its top 10 – scorers in program history, the fourth-best scorer in league history, the fifth-most blocks in league history, and much more.
Susie Gardner | 1996-03
The height of Austin Peay State University women’s basketball was when Susie Gardner patrolled the Governors’ sidelines.
A Mount Juliet native, Gardner returned to her home state in 1996 after four seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego State. During her tenure at APSU, Gardner captured five OVC titles, led the Govs to three NCAA Tournaments, and while winning a program-record 112 games, including 68 in OVC play.
A 2007 Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Gardner coached four of APSU’s five selections on the OVC 75th Anniversary Team, including Brooke Armistead, who was the first player in program history named the OVC Athlete and Player of the Year.
Brooke Armistead | 1999-03
Austin Peay State University’s all-time leader in points (2,508), career scoring average (20.9), made field goals (873), field goals attempted (1,880), made free throws (601), attempted free throws (694), Armistead, simply put, is the greatest player in program history.
Armistead is the only Governor to earn All-OVC honors each season of her career, with three First Team and one Second Team selections. She also is one of two Govs (Gerlonda Hardin) to be named to the OVC All-Tournament Team four times.
Armistead broke onto the scene as a freshman with 608 points and 20.3 points per game – both program records at the time – earning OVC Freshman of the Year. The Elmwood native went on to break her own scoring record as a sophomore and junior, while her 528 points as a senior still ranks 10th all-time.
When her collegiate career came to an end, Armistead was the NCAA’s 29th all-time leading scorer and had led the Govs to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Armistead was the first OVC student-athlete drafted to WNBA, after being selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars in the third round of the 2003 WNBA draft. After having her professional career cut short due to injury, Armistead returned to Clarksville where she served as an assistant coach in 2003-04 and 2011-15.
The 2007 Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame inductee was the first APSU female student-athlete to have their jersey retired.
Gerlonda Hardin | 2000-04
The only player in program history – and one of two APSU student-athletes at all – with -straight NCAA Tournament appearances, Hardin is Austin Peay State University’s all-time leader in career field-goal percentage (.618) and blocked shots (223) and is third all-time in scoring (1,863), rebounds (982), and made field goals (749).
After averaging 11.1 points and 7.0 rebounds as a freshman – earning All-OVC Freshman Team honors – Hardin added 15.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during her sophomore campaign, including 23.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in the OVC Tournament which was capped off by 30 points in the title match against Tennessee Tech to claim her first of two OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player awards.
As they did throughout their careers, Hardin and Armistead teamed up to rewrite the record books during Austin Peay State University’s 27-4 2002-03 season which saw it go 16-0 in OVC play, post the longest winning streak in OVC history (22), and sweep the OVC Championship titles.
Following the departure of prominent scorers such as Armistead and Paige Smith, Hardin led the APSU Govs with 571 points during her senior season – the seventh-best scoring season in program history and second-best by a senior – while also hauling in a career-best 270 rebounds.
In addition to helping the Govs secure its second-straight sweep of the OVC Championships and its fifth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Hardin became the second Gov to earn OVC Athlete and Player of the Year honors, joining Armistead from the year prior.
The 2010 Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame inductee finished with a program-record six OVC titles.
Paige Smith | 1999-03
Smith was the facilitator of the greatest era of Austin Peay State University women’s basketball history, but her skills on the hardwood far exceeded her passing expertise.
The four-time OVC Champion could do it all on the court. While known for her distribution, which still has her fourth all-time with 435 assists, she also had a knack for scoring (1,324-career points, 10th all-time), knocking down the triple (243, second all-time), picking up steals (177th), and was nearly automatic from the charity stripe, with just 37 missed free throws in her career, giving her the third-best free-throw percentage in program history (.852). She also is the program leader in games started (119) and minutes played (4,144).
Smith joined teammates Armistead and Hardin in the Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Ashley Haynes | 2002-06
A five-time OVC Champion and three-time First Team All-OVC selection, Haynes is the only player in program history with 1,300 points and 1,000 rebounds in their career. The Northwest High School product and Hardin made for undoubtedly the greatest backcourt pairing in program history.
Widely regarded as the best all-around player in program history, when Haynes’ Austin Peay State University career ended, she ranked in the top 10 in 23 career statistical categories including rebounding (1,080, second), scoring (1,497, fourth), assists (387, fifth).
After being tabbed to the OVC All-Freshman Team during her freshman season, the Haynes-Hardin backcourt helped lead the APSU Govs to the 2003-04 OVC Regular Season and Tournament Championships the following season after combining for nearly 30 points and 18 rebounds per game, earning each First Team All-OVC recognition.
Haynes led the APSU Govs with 9.2 rebounds per game– ranking 50th nationally – and tallied a team-best nine double-doubles as a junior.
After Hardin graduated, Haynes took over her position in the paint and posted the best rebounding season in program history with 374 total boards – 25 more than the previous record held by Golena Rucker, which had stood for 26 seasons. She also added 22 double-doubles, scored in double figures in all but one contest, and posted the first 20-20 performance by a Gov in a 21-point, 20-rebound outing against Tennessee Tech. She went on to post the second 20-20 outing with 23 points and 22 boards in the first round of the OVC Tournament just 10 days later.
Haynes’ 13.4 rebounds per game in 2005-06 were third in Division I, while her 16.9 points per game were third in the OVC.
Haynes was inducted into the Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Tiasha Gray | 2012-16
A two-time First Team All-OVC selection, Gray was another do-it-all player for the Governors and is the only player in program history to rank top 5 all-time in scoring and assists, ranking second in both categories.
Gray had one of the best seasons in program history as a junior with 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Her 21.2 points per game are fourth all-time by a Gov, while her assists are tied with Kelly Chavez (2001) for the single-season program mark. That season, Gray also became the second player in program history to record a triple-double with a 12-point, 10-rebound, and 12-assist performance against Saint Louis.
Gray followed her stellar junior campaign with a nearly as impressive senior season with 20.6 points and 5.3 assists per game, earning her second-straight First Team All-OVC nod.
