Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (2-4) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (3-2)
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 5:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (2-4) vs. California Baptist Lancers (2-4)
Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 5:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

KNIGHTS START CONFERENCE PLAY WITH SEA LIONS, LANCERS
Following two tough battles in Canada last week, ART U Women's Basketball returns home with a fresh perspective as this week brings the first Pacific West Conference competition of the year. The Urban Knights open with Point Loma and California Baptist in town.

OPENING TIP
The first of two PacWest matchups this week comes Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 PM when the Knights host Point Loma at Kezar Pavilion. That contest will be followed by ART U's first pairing with California Baptist on Thursday, Dec. 5 also at 5:30 PM inside Kezar Pavilion. Live Stats, Live Video, and Live Audio (via Urban Knights Radio) will be available for all contests. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
The ART U offense has continued to flow as a program-record six players are currently averaging double figures in scoring at this point in time. Led by Zoie Sheng's 11.8 points per game, Academy of Art is the second highest scoring team in the PacWest at 73.7 ppg behind Hawaii Pacific's 75.5 ppg and has done it primarily at the free throw line where their 73.1 percent leads the conference. Regina Camera (11.3 ppg), Alisa Griggs (11.2 ppg), Molly O'Brien (10.8 ppg), Sha'Nice Storey (10.5 ppg), and Jasmin Guinn (10.5 ppg) have all shown they are threats to score along with Sheng. Sheng and Griggs are both among the PacWest's Top 20 scorers and both in the top five in field goal percentage as well. Sheng adds 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals, one of just two three-point percentages over .500 in the conference (.533) and is currently the PacWest leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.5). Griggs offers 7.2 rebounds per game which ranks ninth in the conference and is shooting .521 from the field thus far.

SEA LIONS KEEPING OFFENSES AT BAY
After a PacWest Conference debut season that saw Point Loma go 14-13 overall (10-8 in PacWest play), the Sea Lions were picked to finish sixth overall this year and are among the conference leaders coming into this week. At 3-2 overall, PLNU is currently second in the PacWest standings and has prided itself on defense (primarily steals) and the ability to make free throws. Point Loma started the year with a 74-62 win over Central Washington, fell in a bad way to Seattle Pacific 62-28, but bounced back with a 75-62 win over Concordia (CA). Most recently at the end of November, PLNU dropped a close 58-52 battle to Cal State Dominguez Hills, but again bounced back to defeat Cal State Los Angeles 74-69. The team is led offensively by Jessica Escorza who averages 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. Not far behind her is sharpshooter Callie Rhoads at 12.8 points and 2.0 3-pointers made per game. Rhoads was the main thorn in ART U's side when the teams met last season as she went for a game-high 17 points (3-of-6 3PT) despite a 74-71 victory sealed by a pair of free throws by Zoie Sheng. That was the squads' first meeting to date.

NEW LANCERS LACING IT UP
Although the Urban Knights won the 2012-13 PacWest Tournament Championship, it was California Baptist who wound up securing last year's regular season championship with a 25-6 overall record (15-3 in PacWest). As a rivalry has formed between the Lancers and Knights in three historical meetings over the past two years, it seemed only fitting that both teams would receive first place votes in this year's PacWest Preseason Coaches' Poll (CBU was picked to finish third). Thus far, however, both teams have struggled and followed oddly similar results en route to their respective 2-4 records. The Lancers started the season narrowly defeating Cal State San Bernardino 65-64 before a more convincing 67-52 win over Western State. But four consecutive losses were then handed to California Baptist as UC Colorado Springs (76-64), Saint Martin's (64-55), Central Washington (92-66), and Northwest Nazarene (94-88) all got the better of the Lancers. Having lost a total of nine seniors, the team is led by Kamille Diaz's 12.8 points, 2.8 3-pointers made, 4.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game. An unselfish team, CBU paces the PacWest in both assists (15.2 apg) and is tied with ART U in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9). The Lancers hold a 3-0 advantage in the historical meetings with the Knights.

WOMEN'S HOOPS CONTINUES TO GARNER VOTES ON NATIONAL POLL
After receiving votes on the USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll the first seven times it was released last season, Academy of Art University Women's Basketball has now appeared three times in 2013-14 (preseason and first two releases) as determined by the USA Sports board of coaches, 33 members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Find the most recent release here.

SIMON FRASER TAKES A PAIR FROM ART U IN CANADA
North of the US border for the first time in program history last week, Academy of Art University Women's Basketball had a tough time on back-to-back nights battling a Simon Fraser team that reached the "Sweet 16" round in last year's NCAA Tournament. ART U dropped a 84-69 result to the Clan in the first of the teams' two meetings after a steady run at the end of the first half and into the second gave SFU as much as a 20-point lead.

Day two saw five Urban Knights score in double figures, but it was not enough as Simon Fraser outlasted Academy of Art 89-74 in the end. Thanks in large part to Alisa Griggs' team-high 22 points, ART U cut into an early advantage by the Clan, shortening what had been a 17-point game to four midway though the second half.

LOOKING AHEAD
After this week, there will be one more PacWest Conference home contest on tap for ART U prior to a seven-game road stretch that will take the Urban Knights to Las Vegas, NV and Hawaii. On Dec. 14, Academy of Art battles Dominican at 6:00 PM inside Kezar Pavilion.