PacWest Release

Phoenix, AZ -- In a week where ART U women's basketball not only continued its historic eight-game win streak and posted a new program rebound record, three Urban Knights received Pacific West Conference Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll selections for their efforts. Sophomore forward Alisa Griggs, junior guard Nicol Biesek, and junior forward Ariel Dale were all among the rebounding leaders in the conference for the week, highlighted by Griggs' 23-rebound night against Dominican which set another Academy of Art University record. The honors were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ on Monday, Feb. 6 for games played Jan. 30 - Feb. 5.

It was a truly memorable night for Griggs against Dominican on Jan. 30. The Milwaukie, OR native was tremendous on the boards and had a double-double (her seventh of the year) after just one half of play. She was 7-for-11 from the floor in the first period for 15 points in addition to an incredible seven offensive rebounds in that half alone. As ART U built upon its 30-point halftime lead, Griggs would continue to impress, finishing the evening with 21 points and 23 rebounds to set a new Urban Knight program record (six more rebounds than the previous mark). The 23 boards tied Griggs for the second-most in PacWest history and the most by any player since Mar. 6, 2010.

Griggs would follow that performance up with a solid game against Notre Dame de Namur three nights later on Feb. 2. She was one of four Urban Knights to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds along with two assists and two steals for the second consecutive contest.

During the 2-0 week, Griggs averaged 15.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. She led the PacWest in total rebounds, ranked fifth in rebounding average, and ranked seventh in scoring (including going 7-of-7 from the foul line).

Biesek was also a beast rebounding the basketball against Dominican. The junior guard secured many a possession for Academy of Art with her 14 rebounds (11 on the defensive glass) and made key plays as ART U pulled away in the first half. Biesek dished out three of her five assists during the two separate early runs by the Knights while grabbing seven rebounds in each half. The 14 rebounds pulled by Biesek rank sixth in program history for a single game. The South Pasadena, CA native also set the program's new single season blocks record with a rejection against the Penguins, giving her 18 in total. Biesek was strong offensively against NDNU later in the week when she turned in 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Biesek completed the week having averaged 10.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 3-pointers made per game. She ranked fifth in the PacWest in rebounding for the week.

While Griggs and Biesek were monsters on the glass against Dominican, Dale was busy approaching the first triple-double in Academy of Art University history. Though she was just shy of that mark, an impressive all-around performance had Dale with 14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals in the game. Finding her teammates throughout the contest, the Los Angeles, CA native finished with the sixth-most assists in ART U history for a single game. Dale then scored the game-high (15 points) versus Notre Dame de Namur days later along with six rebounds, five assists, and three thefts.

Dale averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 3.0 steals per game in the two ART U victories. Among the PacWest leaders in numerous stat categories for the week, the junior forward ranked eighth in scoring, tied for ninth in rebounding average, third in assist average, and second in steals.

With her eighth PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll selection of the year (ninth in her career), Griggs is now just two honors away from tying Jessica Nolan's ART U record set last season. Biesek picks up the first weekly honor of her Urban Knight career while Dale's snags her second of the season.