As time expired on Jan. 20, Brianah Ferby and the rest of the Govs Women’s basketball team watched her last minute 3-pointer hurl fall short, resulting in a 78-75 loss for APSU at the hands of top-ranked Belmont Bruins (18-3, 8-0 Ohio Valley Conference).
APSU (11-8, 4-4 OVC) found footing in their second trip to Nashville in three days with Ferby and Brianne Alexander finishing north of the 20-point mark. The duo combined for 51 points, that number comes out to nearly 70 percent of the points for the team dressed in all red.
Michaela Cambell, Keisha Gregory and Falon Baker also combined for 15 points in the outing, while Bri Williams, Ari Gonzalez-Varner and Brandi Ferby all recorded three points each to round out the scoring.
The Govs generated 16 points in the paint, and 16 second-chance points as they cleaned up around the rim. The team also found 12 points from the bench and 13 points off turnovers. A counter to Belmont’s four points from turnovers.
However, the Govs struggles to control the Belmont attack up close as the Bruins netted 26 points in the paint and 15 second-chance points.
The Bruins also saw 20 of their 78 points come from non-starters. 17 of those were generated by junior forward Ellie Harmeyer.
Darby Maggard led Belmont in scoring with 24 points while Sierra Jones and Kylee Smith also finished in double figures with 14 and 11 respectively. Sallie McCabe and Caitlyn Yost rounded out scoring for the Bruins by combining for 12 points.
Throughout the offensive shootout, the Govs managed to tie the game on six occasions and take the lead three separate times. APSU held its largest lead, three points, for the first time in the early stages of the third quarter.
“I am proud of our team. Belmont has been the OVC Champion for two-straight years for a reason, I thought we were in their face, and they still shot 52.0 percent from three for the game. In the end, it was one possession,” said Head Coach David Miclick to letsgopeay.com. “We left it all on the floor tonight.”
APSU managed to work out a 17-point second quarter, tying the game at 30 all at the break, but Belmont’s 25-point third quarter gave the Bruins the edge in a down-to-the-wire finish.
The Govs return to the Dunn Center for Coming Home against Eastern Kentucky (7-10, 4-4 OVC) on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 5:15 p.m.
