Game #26
ART U Urban Knights (19-6, 16-1 PWC) vs. Dixie State Red Storm (12-11, 10-7 PWC)
Saturday, February 22, 2014 at 1:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – SF State Main Gymnasium (Directions to SF State & Campus Map)
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Game #27
ART U Urban Knights (19-6, 16-1 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (8-15, 8-9 PWC)
Monday, February 24, 2014 at 5:30 PM
San Rafael, CA – Conlan Recreation Center
Live Stats & Video | Live Audio

CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON TITLE WITHIN REACH FOR KNIGHTS
After defeating Fresno Pacific and seeing Azusa defeated by UH Hilo earlier this week, the magic number for Academy of Art Women's Basketball became "2." The Urban Knights need either to win two of its next three games, Azusa to lose two, or an ART U win and an Azusa loss to secure the program's first Pacific West Conference regular season championship. Rematches with Dixie State and Dominican are on deck as the weekend approaches for the now #10 in the NCAA Division II West Region Academy of Art.

OPENING TIP
Playing a home game at SF State's Main Gymnasium this Saturday, Feb. 22, Academy of Art hosts Dixie State for a 1:00 PM tipoff. Shortly thereafter on Monday, Feb. 24, the Knights will face Dominican also for the second time this year in a 5:30 PM tipoff at the Penguins' Conlan Recreation Center. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

ACADEMY OF ART 10TH IN WEST REGION AFTER FIRST NCAA RANKINGS
In this week's first set of NCAA Regional rankings for 2013-14, the Urban Knights found themselves #10 in the West Region despite holding a better in-region record than six of the 10 teams. Leading the way with a 15-2 in-region record is Montana State Billings followed by Simon Fraser (16-5), Cal Poly Pomona (17-4), Seattle Pacific (14-6), Chico State (15-6), Cal State Dominguez Hills (15-6), Cal State LA (14-7), and Western Washington (12-5). Complete rankings here!

KNIGHT WATCH
Among the top teams in all of NCAA Division II, Academy of Art is sixth in the country in turnover margin (+6.63), 25th in both scoring offense (74.9 points per game) and steals per game (10.9), and Top 40 in scoring margin with a 9.9 points per game difference. The Knights are scoring a full 3.0 more ppg than their next closest PacWest opponent.  Krystal Forthan, who earned her fourth PacWest weekly honor this past Monday, comes in among the top 30 in the nation in total double-doubles (11) despite playing nearly half the number of games as every name around hers on the list. She went for 25 points and 10 rebounds against Fresno Pacific and is now averaging 18.7 points (would be third in PacWest if met game minimums), 11.4 rebounds (would be second in PacWest), 2.1 blocks (would be third in PacWest), 1.9 steals (would be 10th in PacWest), and 1.9 assists per game. Regina Camera pushed her string of consecutive games with at least 14 points and three rebounds to six on Monday and is now up to 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest with the second-most assists on the team (62). She is second to Zoie Sheng who is contributing 10.6 points and 3.1 assists per game after seven at FPU. Jasmin Guinn continued her strong hustle play and remains the PacWest leader in offensive rebounds (3.6 rpg) as well as fourth in steals per game (2.2 spg). She is top 40 in the country in total double-doubles this season (9).

Molly O'Brien is averaging 9.0 second half points per game in her previous two and is among the team's leaders in scoring at 10.6 ppg. She is also fifth in the PacWest with a 47.7 field goal percentage that still sits behind teammate Alisa Griggs' 50.7 percent at the top of the list. Achieving a program record as an individual, Sha'Nice Storey moved into first in career three-point field goals made with a total of 87 in less than two seasons at ART U. She comes in averaging 1.4 triples per game (top 20 in conference) and 10.6 points per contest.

HOLMSTEAD COMING OFF HOT HOMESTAND
Currently holding the third seed in the PacWest Conference Tournament with a 10-7 conference record, Dixie State has been on a tear of late with four consecutive wins. The Red Storm fell to Academy of Art 98-85 on Jan. 30 in Utah and were topped by Dominican 64-47 thereafter, but Dixie's momentum shifted and offed Holy Names (95-80), BYU-Hawaii (62-60), UH Hilo (77-54), and Chaminade (73-68) all part of a six-game homestand. The Red Storm will be on the road at Dominican today then face Academy of Art before returning to St. George for their finale against California Baptist on Mar. 1. Haley Holmstead continues to lead the PacWest in scoring and is fourth in all of NCAA DII, turning in 23.6 points per game to go with shooting 48.3 percent from the field. She comes off the six-game homestand in which she averaged 29.0 ppg and scored over 30 points on three occasions. Kaylah Miller (12.7 ppg) is also a dangerous scoring threat who made six 3-pointers en route to 21 points last time against the Knights. In eight historical meetings, Academy of Art is 2-6 after their victory earlier this season which featured a team-high 21 points (8-of-16 FG) from Regina Camera.

PENGUINS WITH LATE PUSH
Dominican carries the fifth seed in the PacWest Conference Tourney as of now, sporting an 8-9 conference record ART U dealt the Penguins one of 12 consecutive losses to start the season, but since late January, things have turned around for the Knights' San Rafael rival. A stretch of six wins in seven games (four consecutive) began with a 63-53 victory over UH Hilo on Jan. 23 and continued with a 77-53 triumph over Chaminade. Point Loma handed the Penguins a 75-46 loss, but since that time, Dominican has put away Dixie State (64-47), Holy Names twice (64-61 & 67-61), and Notre Dame de Namur (75-52). As mentioned above, the Penguins face Dixie State this evening before hosting Academy of Art on Dominican's 'Senior Day' on Monday. The 59-43 Knights victory over the Penguins back on Dec. 14 made ART U a perfect 10-0 against Dominican all-time and featured a double-double by Jasmin Guinn (11 points, 11 rebounds). Salonika Quewon-Owens, however, also had a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in that game and she has since become the team's leading scorer at 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Jasmine Cox is not far behind her teammate at 7.8 points and the same 8.0 rebounds per game.

ART U TRUMPS FPU FOR NINTH STRAIGHT WIN
Shooting over 50 percent and pushing ahead for good with a 10-0 run in the first half, ART U Women's Basketball put away Fresno Pacific 86-66 for its 16th Pacific West Conference victory this past Monday. The Urban Knights had five players score in double figures led by Krystal Forthan's tenth consecutive double-double (25 points, 10 rebounds) for an all-around team effort inside FPU's Special Events Center on Monday evening.

LOOKING AHEAD
Just one game remains for ART U's 2013-14 regular season prior to the Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament in March. The Urban Knights will honor seniors Amanda Encelan and Alisa Griggs prior to the "Senior Knight" season finale on Thursday, Feb. 27 when Academy of Art hosts Azusa Pacific. Sign up to ride the FAN BUS here!