Box Score
Photo Gallery (images by Hailey Archambault)

Oakland, CA -- Despite trailing by six at halftime, the Academy of Art University women's basketball team responded with one of its best halves of the season en route to an 86-72 victory over Holy Names. The Urban Knights shot over 56 percent in the second period to take charge of the game inside Tobin Gym on Tuesday evening. ART U was led by double-doubles from both senior Ariel Dale (career-high 21 points, 12 rebounds) and junior Alisa Griggs (18 points, 10 rebounds).

"I obviously wasn't happy with the way we played first half," head coach LaNay Larson said. "It was sloppy, undisciplined, and didn't look like the team I know we have matured into. We talked at half about being focused and playing our game at both ends. We were more patient, made better decisions on offense, and finished well around the basket in the second. Defensively it was about getting stops and forcing them into bad shots and turnovers."

Academy of Art could hardly miss in the early going as layups by freshman Zoie Sheng, Dale, and senior Katy Wade got the Knights started before two long-range baskets by Sheng and senior Jordan Rogers. Four minutes in, ART U held a 12-3 lead and appeared to be ready to deal out a similar result as it did to Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday.

However, Holy Names began to fight back, gaining momentum from missed shots and transition buckets. The Hawks went on an 11-3 run which brought them to within one point, 17-16, at 10:52 and even saw them briefly take a 19-18 lead thereafter.

ART U would not have it though and took the lead right back by way of an 11-2 surge capped off by five straight points from Rogers. The rollercoaster ride continued, however, because HNU vaulted back ahead with a 16-2 push to end the half up 37-31. An uncharacteristic 14 Academy of Art turnovers in the first half spelled the difference.

The Urban Knights played like a new team in the second half. Though the lead was not immediately undone, ART U steadily whittled it down before making a definitive move midway through. Senior Nicol Biesek dealt out all four of her assists in a two-minute span which began with a jumper by by Griggs and late included Dale, freshman Jasmin Guinn, and Wade in the mix.

“Nicol came in and gave us the spark with some keys plays that I really believed helped us turn the corner,” Coach Larson said. “Arie, Alisa, and Jordan did a great job of attacking and controlling the boards.”

Behind by just one, 52-51, the Knights essentially matched Holy Names while battling through three ties. Then, with nine minutes to play, ART U jumped in front on a 3-pointer by freshman Regina Camera and never looked back. Dale added a jumper and five unanswered points by Griggs that included a three-point play finished off the 10-2 burst.

Thanks to a stretch of four consecutive turnovers by the Hawks to start the final four and a half minutes, ART U pushed ahead by double digits and stayed there for the remainder of the game, eventually winning 86-72.

“I was proud of the way we finished the second half,” Coach Larson said. “We looked much more like the composed team that has big goals left to accomplish.”

The team-high 21 points were also a career-high for Dale as the senior went 10-for-17 from the floor and surpassed the 500-point plateau for her career on Tuesday. She did much more than score though. Dale crashed the offensive boards hard, finishing with 12 rebounds (seven offensive) as well as six steals and five assists.

Griggs went for 18 points (8-of-9 from the foul line) and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes on the court. She would become one of just three ART U players to ever get beyond the 700-point mark with more than 300 rebounds for her career. Rogers was just a rebound shy of a double-double herself, posting 13 points and nine rebounds with four steals. Biesek was the fourth Urban Knight to score in double figures with 10 points complemented by four assists.

Having surpassed their new program wins record a year ago, the Urban Knights are now 19-8 overall and 12-5 in conference play. They are now locked in with the third seed in the PacWest Conference Tournament (Mar. 7-9).

The Hawks, who sit just behind ART U as the second-highest scoring team in the PacWest, were held under their scoring average in a loss that made them 13-13 overall and 7-10 in conference action. Britney Potestio posted a game-high 24 points while Renique Fitzpatrick added a double-double in the form of 17 points and 16 assists.

One final game remains in Academy of Art University's regular season and it comes up this Saturday, Mar. 2 at Dominican. The Knights and Penguins are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 PM.