LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's not a conference game, but you could think of it as an ASUN preview.

At 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday, the Bellarmine University women's basketball team will square off with Austin Peay State, which is set to join the ASUN next season. The first contest in what is expected to be a long-running series between the Knights (1-6) and Governors (3-3) will take place in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Bellarmine opened the season with four straight road games, including two against nationally ranked opponents in Louisville and Ohio State, but the Knights are coming off three contests in Freedom Hall. In that stretch at home, Bellarmine knocked off Morehead State 68-61 before falling in competitive clashes against Western Kentucky, 64-55, and Evansville, 89-83.

Austin Peay, which is currently a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, returns to the court in the Winfield Dunn Center after a lengthy break from action. The Governors last played on back-to-back days, Nov. 26-27, in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament in Boca Raton, Florida. They were edged 65-64 by Davidson and 69-61 by Tulsa.

Prior to the Sunshine State trip, Austin Peay put together a three-game winning streak that included a 74-58 victory over North Alabama, yet another future ASUN counterpart. The Governors opened the season against Evansville and, like Bellarmine, were highly competitive until the Purple Aces pulled out a 62-52 win.

Austin Peay is shooting a strong 47.2 percent from the floor. Yamia Johnson has started just once, but she's been a super sub and leads the team at 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Karle Pace is another prime scoring threat at 14.8 points per game. The Governors have held opponents to only 61.3 points per contest.

Sheniqua Coatney is coming off her two best games of the season. The senior forward grabbed 11 rebounds against Western Kentucky and 13 more against Evansville, both Bellarmine individual highs for the season. With 17 points against the Purple Aces, Coatney also registered the Knights' first double-double of the 2021-22 campaign.

The best scoring stretch of Presley Brown's career has continued. The senior guard has posted double figures in the point column in four of the last five games. Like Brown, junior guard Jalea Johnson scored in double figures in four of the last five games, including 24 against Ohio State and 16 against Evansville. Those four scoring efforts (also 12 against WIU and 15 against Morehead State) are the four highest of the tranfer's college career.

Another transfer, sophomore guard Mackenzie Keelin, scored a career-high 17 points against Evansville behind a trio of 3-pointers. Johnson, Brown and senior guard Kathleen Scott all had four assists against the Purple Aces as the 83 points scored was a season high for the Knights.

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