CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (ESPN Clarksville) The latest version of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border goes to Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team as they defeated archrival Murray State, 59-56, Saturday, at the Winfield Dunn Center.
The win was also critical for the Governors (13-12, 8-6 OVC) as they started the day a game ahead of Murray, SIUE, and Southeast Missouri in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The Govs used timely three-point shooting and terrific second-half defense for their fourth win in a row over the Racers (10-15, 6-8 OVC) at the Dunn.
It was a sloppy start for the Govs, as they turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions. The Racers took advantage of the poor start, hitting five of their seven shots to jump out to an 11-2 lead. However, the Govs finally woke up and responded with a 9-0 run sparked by a Keisha Gregory three.
Another Gregory three cut the lead to five, but Murray used 14 points from the OVC’s leading scorer, Evelyn Adebayo, to lead 34-28 at halftime. The Govs shot well from beyond the arc in the first half, going 6-of-13, but were just 4-of-16 on two-point shots. The Racers also limited the Govs getting to the free-throw line, as the Govs just made two of their four free throws in the half, two days after making 28 total free throws against Morehead State.
It was the second time that the Ferby twins hit threes on back-to-back possessions and suddenly a nine-point Murray lead was down to three. After the Ferby outburst, both teams finished the quarter extremely cold, as the Racers went one-of-seven to finish the quarter, while finished the quarter on a 2-of-13 stretch. Griffith-Wallace put the Racers back up top by six after a pair of late free throws, but more importantly, drew the foul on Gregory, who picked up her fourth foul.
The Govs knew they needed a big momentum-changing run and they wasted no time in doing so. After a quick bucket from Gregory, who stayed on the floor with the four fouls, Knowles nailed a triple to bring the Govs within one. The Govs forced a turnover on the next possession, it led to Gregory finishing in transition, and suddenly a six-point deficit was a one-point advantage.
The Racers responded by hitting three of their next four shots before Brianah Ferby hit another massive three-pointer off an assist from her sister, stepping back and shooting from WNBA range as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 53. After a timeout, Griffith-Wallace silenced the crowd with a three of her own, as she proved to be the go-to option for the Racers.
Back on the floor, the Ferby twins once again were coming up big for the Govs. Brianah finished strongly to cut it to one before Brandi was fouled with only 70 seconds left and she made both free throws to give the Govs a one-point advantage. From then on, the Govs knew a couple stops would give them the win and they answered the challenge. Brandi took a charge on Griffith-Wallace to give the ball back to the Govs, but Gregory’s contested jumper rimmed out and the Racers once again had the ball with a chance to win, this time with just 24 seconds left.
The Govs denied Adebayo the ball and did not allow Griffith-Wallace to drive to her right hand, forcing freshman Macey Turley, who broke the Murray State record for most consecutive free throws made in a season in the game, to put up a contested baseline jumper that missed and went out of bounds back to the Governors. Gregory calmly made two free throws to give the Govs a three-point lead before Adebayo’s potential game-tying shot missed, giving the Govs a 59-56 victory over their archrival.
The Govs remain in the Dunn Center, playing their final two home games next Thursday and Saturday against Southeast Missouri and UT Martin, respectively.