NC Tennessee News

With its inaugural ASUN Conference season on the horizon, it's time for Clarksville and Montgomery County to start tuning in to what head coach Brittany Young has assembled in her second year at the helm of the Austin Peay women's basketball program.

Young became the second head coach in program history to reach 20 wins in their debut season and is 10 wins from surpassing Pam Davidson's 34 wins during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons. Young already has won the fifth-most games and is set to pass Hall of Famer Susie Gardner who won 28 games before leading the Govs to four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2001-04.

Elite company, to say the least.

In addition to reaching the 20-win mark last season, Young became the first head coach in program history to lead the Governors to a national postseason win after defeating Furman, 73-59 in the Women's Basketball Invitational.

Enough about Young's place in history, let's talk about the 2022-23 season.

This year's team features 10 newcomers and as many upperclassmen – the most since the 1980-81 season. Eight of the 10 new faces came via the transfer portal, with each garnering Division I experience and impacting this year's program in a multitude of ways.

Whether it's Mariah Adams' scoring and playmaking ability, Jada Roberson's two-way talent, Shamarre Hale's paint presence or any other number that a newcomer has made their presence known, this year's team has shown its mix of athleticism and versatility all season.

In addition to the 10 newcomers, a trio of student-athletes returned from last season in Yamia Johnson, Liz Gibbs and Kaiden Glenn.

Johnson leads the Govs in scoring and is top 25 in Division I in free-throw percentage, Gibbs has started all eight games she has appeared in and earned all-tournament honors at the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic, and Glenn has nearly doubled her scoring output and already has surpassed her appearances from her freshman season.

Seven different Govs have led APSU in scoring this season, with Johnson being the only one to do it in back-to-back games, having done so against Illinois-Chicago and Gardner-Webb.

"We have a team that, on any given night, has several players that can lead us offensively," said Young. "I'm looking forward to our young women continuing to buy into collective team success when each individual embraces their respective roles.

"With so many new faces in the program, we will be in position to take that next step in conference play when our team steps out on the floor with a true understanding that defending, rebounding, and competing are standards in our program. We are moving in that direction."

Austin Peay enters ASUN play 5-5 and winners of their last two games.

After opening the season with its largest victory in nearly two decades, a 46-point win against Cumberland, the Govs earned their first road win of the season in a back-and-forth, 58-53 win at Chattanooga, Nov. 12.

Following a win against Fairleigh Dickinson at the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic, the Govs came away with one of the most memorable wins in recent memory when they mounted a 20-point comeback on the road against rival Murray State, Dec. 13. The win was tied for the largest comeback in the digital record keeping era.

The Govs then ended 2022 with a 13-point win against UNC Asheville to return to .500 on the season and finish the calendar year 10-1 in the confines of the Winfield Dunn Center.

"Our goal coming into conference play, just as with nonconference play, is to win every game," said Young on the upcoming schedule. "However, we had an opportunity during nonconference play to learn valuable lessons in losses that we hope will propel our program when games truly matter in January, February, and March. 

"We got back to .500 by going on the road in a tough environment at Murray State then protecting our home court against UNCA. That focus is needed as we embark on conference play where you have to be able to establish a strong home court while also stealing games on your opponent's home floor."

Last year was a great season for this program, from the 20 wins, 12 home wins, a conference tournament, and WBI victory, and a handful of other noteworthy moments, it was one to remember. Even this year's nonconference schedule had numerous takeaways, but now it is time for the games that fans have been waiting for since Austin Peay announced its move to its new league:

It's time for ASUN Conference play and it's time for the community to back this program like never before.

Original source can be found here