APSU Women’s Basketball defense came through in the final moments as the Govs held rivals Mu**ay State scoreless in the final 2:56 of their Saturday, Feb. 16 clash. Keisha Gregory and Brandi Ferby knocked down late field goals for the hosts as APSU grabbed a 59-56 win over the visiting Racers.

Gregory scored 10 points in the second half en route to a team-high 20-point night.

“In the fourth quarter I thought we played really good defense and that is what I told the team. Even the shots they made were highly contested and it was just very good defense against a very strong offensive basketball team that has been scoring lately,” Head Coach Dave Midlick told letsgopeay.com. “We were down nine and never lost that defensive intensity and were able to score enough baskets.”

The Racers only came away with nine points in the final 10 minutes. Gregory and company double that with 18 fourth-quarter points.

The APSU defensive stand is highlighted by stopping a Mu**ay team that outscored them in both the first two quarters and matched the team with 13 points in the third frame.

An 18-point second quarter helped the Racers take a 34-28 lead at the break. Evelyn Adebayo did the most damage for the guests by rifling off a game-high 14 points in the first half.

Adebayo was held to only two points in the final two quarters

However, the tied shifted for APSU. Gregory’s 10 points were complemented by eight points from Brianah Ferby.

While the Gov defense stepped in, ball movement became the factor that helped overcome a 9-point deficit in the third quarter.

APSU forced six second-half turnovers by Mu**ay State while the Govs cut their six first-half turnover mark in half with three in the second half.

Additionally, APSU’s final 20 minutes saw a game-high eight assists featuring a defensive effort to only allow two second-half Racer assists.

The Govs return to the court to host Southeast Missouri on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m.