Box Score

San Rafael, CA -- Tough defense was the name of the game Friday night in the Urban Knights' 52-44 victory over Cal State East Bay to start off the 2011-12 season at the Conlan Rec Center in the CCAA/PacWest Challenge. Led by a new Academy of Art women's basketball program record eight steals from senior guard Devin London, ART U scored 19 points off 19 second half turnovers by the Pioneers and used a late 19-9 push to earn the win.

“I felt really good about starting the season with a win,” head coach LaNay Larson. “That's definitely something we talked about heading into this game. And especially with this being in CCAA/PacWest Challenge, it's great to beat a West Region team and a team that has improved tremendously since last year. It was a good battle, but I thought we were able to really step up our defensive pressure in the second half. We created offense with our defense and forced 19 turnovers so I was definitely happy with our defensive pressure. I think that made a huge difference.”

Similarly to their exhibition game against Division I University of the Pacific last weekend, the Knights jumped out to an early six-point lead after a 3-pointer by London fell and then another came from senior guard Lorraine Etchell. Layups by sophomore forward Alisa Griggs and junior center Juliua Fraser made it 10-5 and ART U was later able to push that lead to 10 points on another triple from London.

With that 18-8 advantage and seven minutes left, Academy of Art was in a great position, but Cal State East Bay would not go so easily. The Pioneers came back with an 8-0 run and by halftime the Knights were actually behind 22-20.

Both teams jockeyed for position to start the second half as the third tie of the period had 30-30 on the scoreboard. From there, ART U executed an impressive 19-9 surge sparked by a layup from junior guard Nicol Biesek. The Knights posted 10 steals during the run including three in a one minute span with back-to-back picks from sophomore guard Ashley Lucian.

“I thought we got into the passing lanes and had great ball pressure to force quite a few steals in the second half,” Coach Larson said. “Many of those steals were converted into easy baskets which was something we needed. Our second half run was created by defense and effort sustained that. It definitely created the separation we needed.”

An all-around team effort put forth by Academy of Art kept them in front for the remainder of the game, eventually resulting in the 52-44 victory. The Knights were led by 14 points and five rebounds from Griggs as well as London's 12 points and five rebounds. London also amassed eight steals in the contest which becomes a new Academy of Art single-game record, surpassing the seven from multiple players over the past three years. Biesek pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in her ART U debut. The Urban Knights are now 1-0 this season.

“I think Nicol brings a lot to our team in a lot of different areas,” Coach Larson said. “She's a great passer, can rebound, and shoots well. Devin finished with eight steals and she keyed in on defense tonight. I thought she made a huge difference and really stepped up. It was not the best shooting night, but we certainly showed we're capable with our defense and we got to free throw line when we needed to. Also Alisa played well and was a tough matchup for them. I thought we had people come off bench who gave us great minutes. We're low on numbers, but you've got to have people step up off the bench and their production played a huge part in our success.”

For Cal State East Bay, Sarah Finlay had 14 points, but nine turnovers and two other Pioneers, Micah Walker and Marlene MacMillan, each had 10 points apiece. CSUEB falls to 0-1 to start the year.

The Urban Knights continue their participation in the season-opening CCAA/PacWest Challenge tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 12 with a game against Humboldt State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM inside Clonan Rec Center on the campus of Dominican University in San Rafael, CA.