For 14 minutes, the UTM Skyhawks gave Austin Peay all the battle it wanted in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon in the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Austin Peay cruised during the other 26 minutes of the game and defeated the Skyhawks 73-58. Austin Peay defeated Southeast Missouri State in the tournament championship and will advance to the NCAA tournament.

In the first 14 minutes of play, the lead changed seven times and was tied once.

With 5:12 to play in the first half, Austin Peay's Paige Smith busted a three-pointer to give the top-seeded Lady Govs a 25-19 lead.

Austin Peay never looked back en route to their 21st consecutive win of the season.

The Skyhawks committed 14 first-half turnovers and failed to hit a single three-pointer in the first half.

Austin Peay hit six-of-14 from the arch and shot 50 percent from the field in the first half. The Lady Govs led at the break 37-21.

Smith led Austin Peay with four treys in the game and 12 first-half points.

Brooke Armistead, the OVC's Player of the Year, finished the first half with 10 points.

In the second half, Austin Peay opened the game wide open with a 12-3 run.

Tiffany Brundige scored the first points of the half for the Skyhawks with 17:33 to play. Gerlonda Hardin's layup with 10:41 to go gave the Lady Govs their biggest lead of the game at 25 points.

The Skyhawks whittled away at the deficit but the closest they came was the 15-point margin at the final buzzer.

Sophomore Danielle Page and Brundige, a junior from South Fulton, Tenn., led the Skyhawks with 11 points each.

Senior Amy Watson, an All-OVC first team selection, finished the contest with 10 points and 10 rebounds. For Watson, it was her second career double-double.

Smith led Austin Peay with 19 points, while Armistead finished with 17 points and Hardin tossed in 13 points.

The Skyhawks were 1-for-11 from the arch, while Austin Peay was 8-for-18 from the land of three.

The Skyhawks, seeded No. 4 in the tournament, finish the season with a 13-16 overall record.

The team was 9-7 in OVC play. Austin Peay is now 26-3 on the year and was undefeated (16-0) in conference play.

Austin Peay was the only conference team to beat the Skyhawks in the Elam Center this season.

The Skyhawks will lose three players from this year's squad, Watson, Randi Morgan and LaShanta Morrow. All three are seniors and will graduate.