Women's Basketball wins at buzzer against Austin Peay, 59-58
Howard's putback helps Lions escape Clarksville with win
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tarayceus Jeffries – (256) 349-8222
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (February 24, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team used a last-second buzzer beater by sophomore forward India Howard to beat Austin Peay in a 59-58 thriller on the road in Clarksville, Tenn.
With 6.6 seconds remaining, UNA inbounded to freshman guard Veronaye Charlton, who charged the basket. She missed her layup but saved her own shot from going out of bounds. Howard ended up with it and the ball left her hands with less than a second to go, rolling in to stun the home crowd.
North Alabama notches its 12th win of the year, moving to 12-16 on the season and 8-7 in the ASUN standings. Austin Peay's record now stands at an even 14-14 while 7-7 in the ASUN. Both teams are locked into the ASUN postseason tournament.
UNA fought back from an early deficit for the come-from-behind win, culminating in the game-winning shot. The Lions started strong in the first to gain the lead but fell behind 21-12 after one. The second period saw UNA improve on both ends of the floor, outscoring Austin Peay 15-9 to cut their halftime deficit to three points.
Solid production on both ends set up a thrilling fourth quarter that saw the Lions open the period on a 10-5 run and gain their first lead since the first quarter. A battle in the final four and a half minutes, key scores from graduate forward Allie Craig Cruce and Veronaye Charlton set up the back-and-forth affair with time winding down.
Austin Peay hit a go-ahead layup with six seconds left in the period, but the biggest play of the afternoon came from Howard. Her putback off of Charlton's shot attempt in the closing seconds won it for North Alabama, escaping Clarksville with the exciting win and season sweep of the Governors.
The Lions used solid shooting, going 46 percent from the floor to fight their way back in the game, while also using defense to limit the efficiency of the Governors who finished 34 percent. The UNA bench provided spark with 28 points against 12 for Austin Peay, while the Lions also took advantage of efficient shots with 32 points in the paint. North Alabama also led in blocks for the fourth-straight game with five.
Howard led in scoring for the first time this season, scoring 16 points for her highest scoring output in a UNA uniform. Senior Alexis Callins also finished in double figures with 11 points, contributing a season-high five rebounds and four assists.
Howard also led with six rebounds, one of four Lions to finish with at least five rebounds. Callins, Charlton, and sophomore guard Alyssa Clutter each finished with five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER: The first quarter started with UNA jumping out to an early lead, opening the period on a 9-4 run. Austin Peay's offense settled in to force the first lead change, grabbing the lead nearly halfway through the quarter. The Lions shot 40 percent from the field and went 3-5 for 60 percent behind the arc.
SECOND QUARTER: Quarter number two went better for UNA on both ends, as the Lions were able to close the gap on the Austin Peay lead. North Alabama limited the Govs to 23.1 percent shooting in the quarter as UNA had timely offensive contributions from Howard. She scored eight points in the period, one short of Austin Peay's scoring total from the second quarter combined. Howard also proved to be a force on the defensive end, blocking three shots to provide energy for the Lions from the second unit. The quarter production led to North Alabama heading into the half down three, 30-27.
THIRD QUARTER: UNA began to improve their efficiency from the floor and pick up the offensive production in the second half. North Alabama's offense shot 40 percent from the field, but the defense stepped up to force a second-straight sub-30 percent shooting quarter by Austin Peay at 27.8 percent. Despite the struggles shooting, the Govs grabbed 14 rebounds in the period, creating eight second-chance points that made the difference in the quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER: North Alabama wasted no time scoring in the fourth, opening the quarter on a 10-5 run to tie the game at 49-49. The Lions earned their first lead since the opening quarter off of a Cruce layup at the 4:43 mark. This set up an exciting four minutes, as Austin Peay regained the lead at the 3:39 mark off of a corner three, but Cruce would answer with a three nine seconds later. Charlton came up clutch with three points in the final 2:31, including a running bank shot floater to give UNA the 57-56 advantage with 43 seconds left. The Govs scored the go-ahead layup with six seconds to go, setting up time for one more possession for the Lions. Charlton missed the initial game-winning layup, but after missing her own put back attempt, Howard corralled the offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to stun the Govs on Senior Day.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· 22 – Howard continues to make improvements as the season progresses, as she finished with a team-high 16 points for the most in her UNA career. She also added six rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Her buzzer beater was the cherry on top.
· 28 – The second unit came up big for UNA with 28 points. Howard led the Lions in points and blocks, sophomore guard Rhema Pegues scored nine points off the bench and sophomore guard Sara Wohlgemuth contributed three points, three rebounds and two assists.
· 32 – North Alabama showed the importance of efficient scoring, finishing with a 32-228 advantage in the paint.
· 5 – UNA sent back five shots to lead the blocks category for the fourth-straight game. Howard, Cruce and Callins all registered a rejection in the contest, including three from Howard.
COMING UP NEXT
UNA Women's Basketball concludes the regular season on the road, traveling to Conway, Ark. to face Central Arkansas on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
