Lexington, Va. – Yamia Johnson scored a game high 29 points and fueled a 16-4 run to give the Austin Peay Governors a 73-59 victory over the Furman women's basketball team in the consolation bracket of the Women's Basketball Invitational, Saturday afternoon from the Clive M. Beck Center.
Furman drops to 19-14 overall while Austin Peay improves to 20-12 on the season.
Tierra Hodges led the Paladins with 23 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Grace van Rij provided 11 points and
Sydney James scored eight.
Tate Walters dished out four assists.
Johnson's 29 points and six rebounds paced the Governors offensively and was one of four players to score in double figures. Karle Pace recorded 12 points and Kasey Kidwell added 11. D'Shara Booker poured in 10 points.
Furman trailed by 10 points to begin the fourth quarter but used an 11-3 run over a stretch of 3:35 to cut its deficit to 57-55 with 6:25 remaining on a 3-pointer by Hodges. The fifth year kept the Paladins within three at the 4:47 mark when her layup made the score 60-57.
Austin Peay outscored Furman 13-2 over the final four minutes with Johnson and Kidwell combining for eight points. Kidwell made two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the final score at 73-59.
Hodges finished the game shooting 9-of-17 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line.
Niveya Henley was 3-of-5 shooting for six points. van Rij went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe along with Walters, who tallied seven points.
The Paladins were 24-of-52 (46.2 percent) from the field and held a 30-27 advantage in rebounds.
Furman will play for seventh place at the Women's Basketball Invitational on Sunday afternoon when it faces either Davidson or Northeastern at 12 p.m.
Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The game is being streamed via paid subscription on Prepspin. Tickets will be available at the door and can be purchased for $20 per day. For more information and further updates, visit the official website at www.womensbasketballinvitational.com and on Twitter (@PostseasonWBI).
