FINAL STATS 

Clarksville, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team suffered a disappointing, 79-63, loss to Austin Peay Saturday afternoon in the Dunn Center.

Olivia Jones led TSU (9-12, 4-7 OVC) with 20 points while I'mani Davis added 14. Jones also had five steals and eight rebounds while Davis tallied four steals and six boards.

Austin Peay (12-12, 6-5 OVC) was paced by Tearra Banks' 28 points while Beth Rates finished with 10.

TSU got off a slow start and fell behind 17-6 after shooting 3-of-17 from the field to open the game. Austin Peay scored seven of the next nine points to increase its advantage to 24-8 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Tiger offense continued to struggle in the second period and the Govs moved ahead 29-10 at the 6:36 mark.

TSU showed signs of life when a 7-0 run fueled by buckets from Diamond Beatty and Tiana Parker cut the deficit down to, 29-17. The Govs, however, responded with six unanswered points to claim a 35-17 lead at the halftime break.  

In the third frame, TSU sank into a 28-point hole before heading into the final quarter trailing, 56-36.

The Lady Tigers pulled to within 16 at one point in the fourth period but that would be as close as they could get.

TSU shot 36.5 percent from the field while Austin Peay posted a 58.3 percent clip from the field.

Tennessee State returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at home versus Tennessee Tech. Game time is set for 11 a.m. in Gentry Center.

#BigBlueRising