Box Score TURLOCK, Calif. — A slow start turned into an explosive finish Saturday, as the Academy of Art University women's basketball team scored over 100 points and had six players score in double figures en route to a 103-87 win over Cal State Stanislaus at Fitzpatrick Arena.
The Urban Knights (2-2) set a single-game program record by shooting 61.7 percent from the field. They went over the century mark for the third time in program history and first time since setting a program record with 120 points on Jan. 8, 2014, in a 120-69 win at Chaminade. The 103 points are the second-most all-time in a single game for ART U, having done it one other time also last season with 101 points on Jan. 6, 2014, at BYU-Hawaii.
Academy of Art struggled with giving up runs to Cal State Stanislaus (1-1) in the first half, falling behind by at least two possessions four different times before finally taking the lead for good with 7 minutes, 22 seconds left before halftime. Junior guard
Vianai Austin's 3-pointer capped an 11-2 ART U run over 71 seconds that erased a six-point deficit and gave the Knights a 39-36 lead.
It was junior guard
Regina Camera and perimeter shooting that got the Urban Knights back into it during those 71 seconds. Camera scored eight straight points during the run, single-handedly tying it at 36-36 with back-to-back 3-pointers and a running layup. Nine of the Knights' 11 points during the run came off of 3-balls, as they posted their second-best ever single-game 3-point shooting percentage at 61.5 percent (8-for-13).
"We're shooting the ball a lot better right now and with a lot more confidence," said Academy of Art head coach
LaNay Larson. "I thought defensively we could've played a lot better. We definitely started out really slow. We can score, I'm not worried about that. I'm looking to fine-tune some things on the defensive end. "
It was still a one-point game in the waning minutes of the opening stanza, but the Urban Knights took advantage of drawing their 10th team foul from Cal State Stanislaus and entering the double bonus. ART U went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes and got a jumper from junior forward
Krystal Forthan to close the first half on a 6-0 run, grabbing a 50-43 lead at the break.
Forthan led all players with 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, her third game this season with at least 20 points and 11 rebounds. Camera had 19 points to go with three boards, two assists and a steal. Austin finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting off the bench.
Senior guard
Molly O'Brien chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and a steal off the bench, and both
Jasmin Guinn and
Sha'Nice Storey added 12 points apiece. The Urban Knights outrebounded the Warriors 45-28, including 33-14 on the defensive end as Cal State Stanislaus missed 47 shots on the night (32-for-79, 40.5 percent).
Academy of Art opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 14-point lead and never look back, holding a double-digit lead for the rest of the game. Cal State Stanislaus went 0-for-6 with three turnovers during that same stretch.
The Warriors were led by Camille Roberts with 21 points. Jasmine Washington scored 17 and Ana Burch poured in nine with six rebounds. Naliah Davis had a team-high seven boards to go with eight points off the bench.
Academy of Art next plays in its first home game of the season at 7:30 p.m. Monday versus Cal State Dominguez Hills at Kezar Pavilion.
"(Cal State) Dominguez Hills is a really good team," said Larson. "We played them last year and really struggled with them, they're very physical, they're big, very confident team. It'll be a good matchup. We're looking forward to it. We want to play the best in the West and they're one of the best teams in the West Region so that'll give us a good idea of where we are right now."
