EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Freshman Allie Troeckler scored a season-best 18 points and the SIUE Cougars used a rousing second half to defeat Austin Peay 67-55 on Senior Night Wednesday at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars, rallying from a 29-25 halftime deficit, swept Austin Peay and improved to 16-12 overall and 13-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. They moved one-half game ahead of UT Martin for second place in the OVC women's basketball standings. Austin Peay dropped to 15-13 and 8-9.

"I thought we were flat in the first half, and it was an understatement to say I was disappointed with our play," SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher said. "But I was really proud of the way we turned it around in the second half. We played at a high level, got stops and produced on the offensive end."

Troeckler, a 5-foot, 10-inch guard from Bethalto, stirred the Cougars. She scored 14 of her points in the second half and supplied solid shooting. Troeckler made 5 of 7 shots and all eight of her free throw attempts. She also collected four rebounds and three steals.

"It was a good game, and I was excited about it," Troeckler said of her performance. "Coach got on us at halftime about playing with more energy, and we did that in the second half."

Buscher added, "Allie gave us energy and made a lot of hustle plays. She did the little things and was a great spark for us."

So was Adams, a senior from Ferguson, Missouri. She joined teammates Donshel Beck, Lauren White and Elina Berzina by celebrating Senior Night in a winning way. Adams scored 14 points, nine in the second half. She made all five of her foul shots and snared five rebounds.

"It was a little emotional, and it hit me at the beginning of the game," Adams said of the four seniors saluted before their final home game. "My teammates did a good job of feeding me the basketball in the post."

Beck's seven points in the first six minutes of the third quarter ignited a 13-3 spree to give the Cougars a 38-32 lead. They stretched it to 52-42 with 5:44 remaining in the game, but the Governors fought back. Austin Peay narrowed the gap to 57-55 with three minutes to go. However, Jay'Nee Alston of the Cougars connected on a three-pointer with 2:36 remaining to make it 60-55, and SIUE never looked back.

"Jay'Nee made a huge shot to give us more energy," Adams said.

Sydney Bauman punched in 12 points to go along with six rebounds. White had nine points and six assists. Beck finished with nine points and eight rebounds to complement Troeckler and Adams' efforts.

"Sydney did a great job on the block," Buscher said, "and Gwen did a good job down the stretch. Early in the game, we forced some things, but we played better in the second half. We made some free throws when we needed to do it, and we finished the game the right way. I really liked the way we played in the third and fourth quarters."

SIUE made 22 of 27 free throws, while Austin Peay was 8 of 17 from the foul line. The Cougars hit on 21 of 50 shots, including 3 of 8 from three-point land. Austin Peay, which outrebounded SIUE 42-31, made 20 of 57 shots, including 7 of 18 from beyond the arc.

Austin Peay held a four-point halftime lead mainly because the Governors outrebounding the Cougars 23-10. The visitors also accounted 10 second-chance points before the break while the Cougars had none. In the second half, both teams had 21 rebounds.

The Cougars close their regular season Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against Eastern Illinois in Charleston. They will go for the season sweep against the EIU, having defeated the Panthers 62-52 on Feb. 7 at SIUE.