CLARKSVILLE – Trailing by ten points with 2:02 remaining, Austin Peay State University women’s basketball pulled off an electrifying comeback to tie the game at 68 and send it to overtime, where the Governors surged to a 77-72 win over Illinois State, Sunday, in the Dunn Center.
The Governors got things going early, with Kasey Kidwell knocking down a three-pointer on the first possession for the second-straight game. A few possessions later, Brandi Ferby knocked down a three-pointer to give the Govs a six-point edge, but the Redbirds immediately scored five unanswered to bring it back to one. Then the Govs took off again, stretching the lead back to six on another three-pointer, this one from Shay-Lee Kirby.
With the Govs commanding their second six-point lead early in the game, it was Illinois State’s turn to go on a run. The Redbirds scored the next seven points to retake the lead heading into the second quarter, setting the tone for the back-and-forth battle that was to come.
The Governors were locked in to start the second quarter, immediately going on an 11-2 run to stake themselves to an 8-point advantage – their biggest of the first half. But the Redbirds would not go away, and a pair of Mary Crompton three-pointers on back-to-back possessions erased the Govs advantage altogether, as Illinois State went on a 13-0 run to claim a 5-point lead – their biggest lead of the first half.
The Govs cut the Illinois State lead to four, before scoring the final five points of the half on a Maggie Knowles three-pointer and a Gonzalez-Varner fast-break layup, to take a one-point lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was the closest of the day, with neither team able to extend their lead past four. After 30 minutes of action, Illinois State held a one-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
Things seemed to be headed south in a hurry for the Govs at the start of the fourth quarter, as Illinois State ripped off an 11-2 run to take an 11-point lead – the largest of the game. A Redbird layup with 2:02 remaining put the Governors down ten points, but that was the last time Illinois State would score in regulation.
An Ella Sawyer jumper, followed by a Nieja Crawford steal and fast break bucket cut the lead to six with 1:11 remaining. Coming out of an Austin Peay timeout, a Kidwell steal led to a Crawford three-pointer to reduce the deficit to three with just under a minute remaining. Following her triple, Crawford made maybe the biggest defensive play of the day, drawing an offensive foul on the other end get the ball back with 32 seconds left on the clock.
Enter Maggie Knowles. The sophomore from Murfreesboro checked in immediately following the Redbird’s offensive foul, and proceeded to knock down a game-tying three-pointer, assisted by – who else? – Crawford.
The Knowles three-point dagger sent the game to overtime, where the Govs once again trailed early. A Knowles jumper in the lane erased the Redbird’s early two-point advantage. From there, the Govs would do the rest of the scoring, knocking down five free throws to claim a 77-72 overtime win over Illinois State.