JACKSONVILLE, FL (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Austin Peay women’s basketball team pulled off a major upset on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the ASUN Tournament.
The #8 Governors took down the #1 Eastern Kentucky Colonels, winning 45-41. The Colonels defeated the Govs in both regular-season meetings, but everybody gets a clean slate in March, and the Govs took advantage.
Even more impressively, the Govs battled back from a big deficit. After the first quarter, the team trailed 17-8, and the Colonels led by as many as 10 points. However, Eastern Kentucky went ice cold shooting in the second and third quarters, and Austin Peay took advantage.
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Entering the fourth quarter, the Govs were holding onto a 35-31 lead. Anovia Sheals picked up a clutch four points for the Govs in the fourth, and the team was able to hold on for a 45-41 upset win.
Sheals led the way for the Govs again, scoring a game-high 19 points. Jim’Miyah Branton contributed 14 points of her own, and no Colonels player finished with more than 10 points. The Govs outscored the Colonels 38-24 in the paint and also forced 17 turnovers.
A crazy stat from this game is that the Govs went 0-23 on three-pointers. Beating the top-ranked team in the conference is impressive no matter what, but even more so when doing it without a single three-pointer.
What it means
Head coach Brittany Young has now led the Govs to the conference semifinals four times in her Austin Peay career.
After the huge win, the Govs will next play the #4 Stetson Hatters in the semifinal round on Saturday. If the Govs win that game, they will advance to the final and will play the winner of Stetson and North Alabama/Central Arkansas.
A win in the final would mean the Govs clinch an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2010 and also earn their first ASUN championship.
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