Through the first six games of the APSU women’s basketball season, the Governors have yet to find a go-to player on offense. According to head coach David Midlick, that is exactly what they strive for.

The Govs held their first game in two weeks on Saturday, Jan. 2, defeating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at home 69-51.

“We were excited to be able to get back at home and play a game,” Midlick said. “It’s been a while since we’ve played, and it’s a short turnaround for Monday night.”

APSU forward Maggie Knowles paced the Governors in scoring with 22, but was just three points ahead of senior Brianah Ferby. Ferby finished the contest with 19, the fifth time she has scored double digits in a game this season.

Knowles and Ferby have both led their team in points on separate occasions this year. In fact, the Govs have seen four different players take the lead offensively in their 4-2 start. Ferby — whose twin sister, Brandi, was the leading scorer in two of their last four games — noted the benefit of the team’s individual capabilities offensively.

“It’s going to be really hard for other teams to guard us,” she said. “I am so glad that we are surrounded by good shooters and inside threats. It’s fun. It’s fun to play with these girls.”

The Governors jumped out to a fast start in their game against EKU, outscoring the Colonels 21-7 by the end of the first period. APSU would open the second with a 10-3 scoring run, and forced 16 turnovers before halftime to find themselves ahead 35-20.

Poor shooting from the Govs after halftime kept Eastern Kentucky in the contest, however. Zero made threes in the third brought the game to as close as 10 points in the final frame, but big back-to-back triples from Knowles and Ferby iced the game for APSU.

A season-high 12 players took the floor in the game for the Governors, with eight adding scoring contributions. Midlick says that, even with the return of the recently suspended Tahanee Bennell, Kasey Kidwell and Ella Sawyer, the Govs will continue to center their play around each individual opponent, rather than any specific athlete.

“We don’t try to look for any one particular player,” Midlick said. “We have some sets for players if we feel like we have a match up we like or something, but we want to share the basketball. We want to be unselfish.

“Whether we have seven that are out there to play or we have our 15, we have to look to play unselfish, try to play fast and try to be aggressive and confident.”

The Governors improved to 2-0 with the win, and would eventually jump out to a 5-0 start in conference play before receiving back-to-back losses to UT Martin and Southeast Missouri. Their five conference wins is the best start to an OVC season for APSU since 2003.