Box Score

Pomona, CA – Despite two last-second chances to win the game, Academy of Art University Women's Basketball saw its season come to an end against Montana State-Billings in the NCAA Division II West Regional for the second consecutive year. The Urban Knights were in command early, establishing an 11-point lead at halftime inside Cal Poly Pomona's Kellogg Gym, but the Yellowjackets fought back to take as much as an eight-point advantage. Although Zoie Sheng and Jasmin Guinn's shots did not fall on ART U's final possession, the future remains bright for the only art school in the NCAA.

"I'm extremely proud of this team," head coach LaNay Larson said. "We start five sophomores and will have 12 returners next year. I thought coming in our team was very young compared to Montana State-Billings and we remained very composed and didn't play like sophomores. We've been here before and that experience [last year] helped us. We obviously wanted it to turn out a lot better with the win, but we are grateful for these experiences and I think we earned the respect of the teams in the tournament. It's a game I thought we could win and unfortunately the ball just didn't bounce our way."

Out of the gate, Academy of Art could not be stopped. A 3-pointer by Sha'Nice Storey was backed up by a jumper from Krystal Forthan and triples from Regina Camera as well as Sheng, leading to a 13-3 advantage. The Knights then switched up the offensive attack and went inside as Alisa Griggs, Molly O'Brien, and Jasmin Guinn each scored layups en route to a 14-point lead.

"I thought we did a good job of hitting shots from the perimeter and that opened up our inside game," Coach Larson said. "Defensively, I thought we played outstandingly in the first half. Our defense fuels our offense."

The Yellowjackets responded by halving the Knights' lead over the next four minutes. After a Bobbi Knudsen layup, the teams endured a lengthy stretch of scoreless basketball before Forthan broke through for the final seven points of the half. ART U finished off a stellar opening period up 34-23.

The second half saw Montana State-Billings come out looking to score with shots from the outside and inside. They went on a 26-7 run to start the second period which gave them their first lead of the game, but Camera's jumper got the Knights back in the mix. The margin stayed in the five-point range briefly before Academy of Art made a move with a 6-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Sheng.

Just under four minutes showed on the clock and ART U trailed by one, 54-53. The Yellowjackets almost exclusively went to Knudsen in the final minutes and it became a back-and-forth battle with Forthan who tipped one in on an offensive rebound and hit a jumper in the lane to give her team a critical 59-58 lead.

"In the second half, they dared us to shoot from the outside and we bit on the hook," Coach Larson said. "In numerous timeouts, I said, 'I know the shots are wide open and enticing, but we need to get the ball inside and attack because that's our strength.' But in that second half we just went cold and missed a lot of layups and jumpers we would normally make. That's not something you can always control, but I thought we played well enough defensively to win that game."

Without calling a timeout, Knudsen came down and hit a deep jumper from the right wing to put Billings up once again, 60-59. The Knights drew up their game-winning shot with 28 seconds left and after MSUB chose to double Sheng, she passed to Guinn, but the ball came back to Sheng for an open three off the Forthan screen. The ball hit back iron and came off the offensive glass into the hands of Guinn who dribbled into the lane and put up another open look, but that too did not fall. The ball was then tipped out-of-bounds and Montana State-Billings escaped with the 60-59 victory.

"I thought we had two shots at the end that were going in and everyone on the bench thought they were going in, but they bounced out and that's the game of basketball," Coach Larson said. "Unfortunately it comes down to inches."

Forthan's 16th consecutive double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) along with four blocks led the way for Academy of Art. Sheng added 13 points (5-of-6 FT) and Guinn grabbed 12 rebounds while passing out three assists. Camera finished with seven points while O'Brien contributed nine rebounds and six points off the bench.

Academy of Art finishes the year with a 23-8 overall record, the best season to date and one in which they earned both the Pacific West Conference regular season championship and their second consecutive PacWest Tournament title. Their All-PacWest Team starting lineup is set to return next season as juniors.

"I have a group of kids who have gotten experience, but they have the taste of a loss and will be hungry for a win coming back next year. I can guarantee that this program is on the map and that we're only going to get better."