At the beginning of the 2013-14 season, high expectations were placed on the shoulders of Academy of Art University Women's Basketball, but by the year's end, the Urban Knights were unquestionably the best team in the Pacific West Conference. ART U earned the conference regular season title for the first time in program history, repeated as PacWest Tournament Champions, and produced its first All-American to date all en route to its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in head coach LaNay Larson's three years with the program.

"I was proud of the girls and the way they finished the season," Coach Larson said. "Being a very young team, we got out to a little bit of a rough start, but we improved and matured as the season went on in order to accomplish some of our goals."

The year commenced in Monmouth, Oregon where Academy of Art won its third non-conference tournament in as many years, using strong second halves to defeat Saint Martin's 69-55 and Western Oregon 64-50. ART U then served as tournament host for the first time ever with Humboldt State, Cal State East Bay, and Dominican visiting for the CCAA/PacWest Challenge. Despite a balanced offensive attack led by All-Tournament Team selection Zoie Sheng, the Knights would be dealt their first two losses of the year, falling to their out-of-conference opponents.

In another first for the program, Academy of Art traveled north of the border to Canada for a pair of contests against Simon Fraser, who would later reach the NCAA Tournament. On both occasions, the teams matched one another for scoring in a single half, but the end result was a sweep for the Clan. The Knights, voted as the PacWest's top team by the conference's coaches at the start of the year, found themselves behind the eight ball with a 2-4 record, but PacWest play would serve as a rebirth.

December opened with a three-game homestand which featured inspired victories over Point Loma, California Baptist, and Dominican. Thanks to a strong first half and, what would become their trademark selfless offense, the Knights put away PLNU 67-59 before a 19-3 difference in points off turnovers helped ART U accomplish its first victory over the Lancers (74-66) in program history. After a 59-43 triumph hosting the Penguins, Academy of Art made it four consecutive wins as the momentum carried into the first part of the final non-conference stretch, the Las Vegas Challenge.

"The team had to find that sense of urgency and really had to grow up on the court," Coach Larson said. "Conference was like a new season for them, a second chance to get to the NCAA tournament, and they realized what they needed to do to make that happen."

A significant turning point came on Dec. 21 when eventual PacWest Player and Newcomer of the Year Krystal Forthan made her regular season debut for ART U in a game that saw everyone's contributions count. The Urban Knights amassed a 19-point halftime lead in a rematch against California Baptist, but the Lancers responded with a huge second half, pulling to within three points with 28 seconds left. Big free throws from Sha'Nice Storey and Zoie Sheng ended up keeping Academy of Art on top for the 82-81 victory and, from there, a successful trip to Hawaii ensued.

More conversions at the foul line, this time from Jasmin Guinn, held off a hungry Hawaii Pacific squad 75-72 to start the Hawaiian road swing. That victory gave way to two historic offensive efforts against BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade in a three-day span. For the first time since the program's inception, the Urban Knights broke the 100-point barrier in a 101-47 win over the Seasiders before two ART U record 60-point halves combined to set Academy of Art's new scoring record in a 120-69 domination of the Silverswords. Both Forthan and Molly O'Brien scored 20+ points while six Knights registered double figure point totals in the trip's finale which made Coach Larson a perfect 10-0 in three years of trips to the islands.

A difficult return home followed, however, as Holy Names forced overtime and ended up stopping the ART U win streak at four games with a 75-70 victory on Jan. 14. The loss only served as an ember that then ignited Academy of Art's fire for 11 consecutive victories, an Athletics Department record.

The stretch began on Jan. 20 with a 74-64 win over UH Hilo headlined by big games from Portland, OR natives Forthan, Sheng, and Storey. After trumping Chaminade by 30 and fending off BYU-Hawaii 79-70, the Knights traveled to Utah for a much-anticipated matchup with Dixie State, Coach Larson's previous program. A high-scoring affair went the way of ART U 98-85 then the month of February started on a winning note with Academy of Art defeating Point Loma in San Diego 81-70.

Back home for a stretch against Bay Area opponents, the Knights topped Notre Dame de Namur twice and exacted some sweet revenge against Holy Names, finishing off the Hawks 83-69 behind double-doubles from Forthan and Guinn. The success continued at Fresno where ART U shut down the Sunbirds 86-66 thanks to Forthan's 10th straight double-double.

Another historic moment came on Feb. 22 when Academy of Art won its first PacWest regular season title after a 97-81 victory that was never in question and featured a program-record 32 assists. The win streak rolled on with a 69-59 result at Dominican on Feb. 24 before the season finale back at Kezar Pavilion against Azusa Pacific. Strong play from the Cougars led them to an 84-66 final, stopping the string of ART U wins at 11, but the Knights would still honor their two seniors, Alisa Griggs and Amanda Encelan, prior to tipoff. Griggs finished her four-year career as the program's scoring and rebounds leader.

One week later, Academy of Art found itself the top seed in the PacWest Conference Tournament, the second of its kind, with a championship to defend. First on Mar. 7, the Knights rallied back from an eight-point deficit early in the second half to overcome Dixie State for the third time in 2014 by a score of 82-72. That led ART U into the championship round where California Baptist laid waiting, but much like the year prior, Academy of Art ensured their second title early on, getting ahead of the Lancers by 21 at halftime and ultimately winning 88-76.

Forthan was named PacWest Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 27.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game in the two contests while Regina Camera collected her second straight All-Tournament Team selection, delivering 15 points and four assists against the Red Storm then her second double-double of the year (17 points, 11 rebounds) versus the Lancers.

"I think it is really hard to win both the regular season and tournament championships in the same year, especially when you are everyone's target," Coach Larson said. "I thought they did a good job of staying focused, regrouping after a couple of losses, and using those as motivation." In the Knights' second appearance at the NCAA Tournament, they put everything they had into a battle with second-seeded Montana State-Billings. The end result was two unfortunate bounces of the ball on the rim as game-winning shots by Sheng and Guinn did not fall and the season ended abruptly with the Yellowjackets winning 60-59.

Forthan, the program's first All-American after the year's conclusion, brought a new dimension to ART U in 2013-14. Owner of a 16-game double-double streak, the PacWest Player and Newcomer of the Year finished the year averaging 19.7 points (would be 3rd in PacWest if met game minimums), 12.3 rebounds (1st in PacWest, 2nd in the country), 2.6 blocks (second in PacWest), 1.7 steals (10th in PacWest), and 1.9 assists per game.

"Krystal obviously came in and made a huge impact from her first game with us," Coach Larson said. "I think she has just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of what she can do at this level. I am proud of what she has accomplished and look forward to seeing her improve on that next season." Along with Forthan, the rest of ART U's stellar sophomore starting lineup, Zoie Sheng, Sha'Nice Storey, Regina Camera, and Jasmin Guinn, were all recognized on the All-PacWest Team. Guinn additionally earned the title of PacWest Defensive Player of the Year and Coach Larson was selected as PacWest Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.

"I was very happy to see them all recognized because I feel like, while they all play different roles, each one is so valuable to our success," Coach Larson said. "They are a very unselfish group that really grew up, embraced their roles, and had that sense of urgency and leadership we were looking for."

With the success of two PacWest Tournament titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons, the Urban Knights will continue to set the bar high and achieve what few thought possible of an art school years ago. Coach Larson, however, was never among those critics and sees nothing but more triumphs on the way for Academy of Art.

"We know we have definitely set the bar high quickly, but that is exactly what the plan was," Coach Larson said. "When I took this program over, I believed we would win championships and feel blessed we have had the right people to do it so soon. The last game left a bitter taste in our mouth and I know with the returning group we have they are hungry for more. Our goals next year are to stay on top and improve on what we have already accomplished. Not an easy task, but I believe in this team and what we have built."