PacWest Release #9

Phoenix, AZ -- At the forefront of Academy of Art University women's basketball's second consecutive sweep in Hawaii, junior Alisa Griggs and freshman Sha'Nice Storey were both selected on the Pacific West Conference Weekly Fantastic 15. Griggs posted her first double-double of the season versus BYU-Hawaii (Jan. 7) while Storey's eight 3-pointers helped her set the new program scoring record against Chaminade (Jan. 9) The honors were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ on Monday, Jan. 14 for games played Jan. 7-13.

Griggs, a Preseason All-PacWest Team recipient and last year a member of the All-PacWest Second Team, broke out to the tune of 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this past week over two games in Hawaii. Bouncing back from a tough shooting night versus Hawaii Pacific, Griggs shined off the bench in the contest pitting Academy of Art University against BYU-Hawaii. She was well on her way to the double-double with 12 points and seven rebounds by halftime all in just 11 minutes on the floor. By the end, Griggs had 18 points and 11 rebounds as well as four assists and a steal.

“I had no idea I had a double-double until we were on the road back,” Griggs said. “It feels so amazing. Honestly, I had to just try and remember how it felt to play last season, especially after going 0-for-8 from the field against HPU. I just relaxed. Our team is well-rounded enough to have players step up when others are struggling. I love this team and I love getting to be back in the action with them!”

The Milwaukie, OR native added another efficient performance two nights later against Chaminade, totaling 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench in 17 minutes of action. For the week, Griggs was ranked 11th in scoring, tied for eighth in rebounding, and tied for ninth in field goal percentage after shooting 60.0 % from the field (15-of-25). On an extremely unselfish ART U team, she has moved up to fourth in scoring at 9.3 points per game and, similarly to last year, she has assumed the lead in field goal percentage (48.2%). 

Storey proved to be especially dangerous from beyond the three-point arc this past week in Hawaii. She began by sinking five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 21 points (including five 3-pointers made) in the 85-80 victory over BYU-Hawaii. With 13 of those points in the first half, Storey sparked the Urban Knights into several runs which allowed them to assume a 46-34 halftime advantage.

Storey followed up that performance with one for the ages against Chaminade two days later. Starting with 13 consecutive points for ART U, the freshman knocked down eight 3-pointers to set a new program single-game record for shots made beyond the arc, but did not stop there. She proceeded to break the school scoring record as well, delivering 31 points in total as part of the victory over the Silverswords.

“Sha'Nice has had a great freshman year and [her performance against Chaminade] put the exclamation point on it,” head coach LaNay Larson said. “She always plays hard on both ends of the court and tonight her shot selection and execution on offense was outstanding. She is doing amazing things early on and is only going to get better.”

By the week's end, Storey had averaged 26.0 points and 6.5 3-pointers made per game, ranking first in the conference in both categories. He shot a blistering 54.3% (19-for-35) from the field  as well as collecting three assists, three rebounds, and two steals. The Portland, OR native rose to 14th in the PacWest in scoring for the season (12.1 ppg) and is now in the Top 7 in both three-point field goal percentage (.371) and three-point field goals made (2.2). 

Griggs makes her first appearance on the PacWest Fantastic 15 this season, but is the 12th weekly selection of her ART U career. Storey receives her weekly honor for the third time this season.