AP HANDS DAMAGING LOSS TO OTAHKIANS

In a battle of comebacks Thursday, Austin Peay had the one that counted the most.

As a result, the Lady Govs picked up a key Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball victory, knocking off host Southeast Missouri State University 67-66 at the Show Me Center.

The Lady Govs, who held a 12-point first-half lead, rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit as they avenged a home loss to Southeast earlier in the season.

Austin Peay thus moved into a third-place OVC tie with the Otahkians, both squads at 6-3. The Lady Govs are 10-10 overall while Southeast is 11-8 after suffering their second straight defeat.

"It's a disappointing loss for us," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen. "We didn't play well in the first half, but we got it going in the second half and we seemed to have control of the game, but we couldn't finish it off.

"I thought it was a must win for them and they came out fired up like I knew they would."

Said Austin Peay coach Susie Gardner, "We've just won two games in a row. We've been talking a lot about putting a streak together. This is a big win for us."

Paige Smith of the Lady Govs hit five of 10 3-pointers and led all scorers with 19 points. Gerlonda Hardin had 16 points and 12 rebounds while Jocelyn Duke added 10 points.

Veronica Benson paced Southeast with 16 points. Lori Chase followed with 14, Pam Iversen had 13 and LaShelle Porter added 12. Chase pulled down 11 rebounds while Iversen grabbed 10 as she recorded her third straight double-double.

Early in the game, it looked like Austin Peay might run Southeast off its own floor. The Lady Govs, who never trailed in the first half, broke away from a 2-2 tie to build a 23-11 lead midway through the opening period.

Austin Peay still led by 12 at 33-21 late in the half, but Southeast closed the period with a 10-1 run that ended on a Tisa Thomas follow shot with 26 seconds left as the Otahkians closed to within 34-31 at the break.

The Otahkians picked up in the second half where they had left off in the first, scoring the first eight points of the period to apparently take control.

Benson's follow basket gave Southeast its first lead of the game at 35-34 and Benson ended the spurt with a pair of free throws that made it 39-34.

When Porter got a conventional three-point play at the midway point of the final half, the Otahkians were ahead 53-44 and seemed on the verge of breaking the contest open.

"We seemed to have control, but I felt like we got complacent," Arnzen said. "Rather than bury them, we let them get some looks and we had some turnovers. They got right back in it and they're too good a club to let that happen."

Austin Peay rallied and finally went ahead for the first time since early in the second half on a Duke layup that made it 58-57 with 4:28 remaining.

Southeast went back on top twice by a point, the last time coming when Chase followed up her own miss with 2:24 left, giving the Otahkians a 61-60 lead.

The Lady Govs came right back as Brooke Armistead drove for a layup with 2:01 remaining, putting Austin Peay ahead 62-61. The Lady Govs would not trail again.

After a Southeast miss, Armistead the OVC's second-leading scorer at 21.5 points per game who scored just nine Thursday drove for a basket and was fouled. She completed the three-point play for a 65-61 Austin Peay lead at the 1:17 mark.

Benson scored inside with 31 seconds left to pull Southeast within 65-63.

Kelly Chavez made two free throws with 11 seconds to go as Austin Peay went up 67-63, but Southeast freshman Christine Rathke buried a 23-foot 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left to make it 67-66 and keep the Otahkians alive.

Southeast was then able to deflect Austin Peay's inbound pass and Porter saved it from going out of bounds, but the ball rolled back past mid-court as the buzzer sounded.