Box Score SAN FRANCISCO – On a brisk Saturday afternoon inside Kezar Pavilion, the Urban Knights experienced their coldest shooting since year one in a 72-64 loss to Dominican in Pacific West Conference play. Still able to score in transition, Academy of Art led for more than 50 percent of the second half and was down by three with under a minute left. However, the Penguins converted their free throws late and held on.
By the first media timeout at 15 minutes and 58 seconds, both sides had made just two field goals apiece in what figured to be a low-scoring affair from the opening tip. The Knights got up by four points on multiple occasions, but back-to-back fast break buckets as part of a 9-1 Dominican run shifted the momentum.
Junior guard
Zoie Sheng then found
Sha'Nice Storey for a 3-pointer to slow down their opponent and added a layup of her own moments later. Sheng's second assist of the first half also set up a Storey triple which tied the game 22-22 and officially made Sheng the program's career leader.
Trailing 27-26 down the stretch in the opening period, Academy of Art executed an 8-0 run with layups by Storey, Sheng, and junior center
Caron Brown turning the tide. The Knights added to their advantage with a 3-pointer by junior guard
Regina Camera and Sheng free throws in the final minute, giving them a 39-29 lead at the break despite shooting 28.6 percent and taking more than twice as many shots as Dominican.
An 11-2 run by the Penguins started the second half and suddenly the double-digit gap was closed to a single point. Buckets by junior guard
Jasmin Guinn, redshirt senior guard
Madeline Martin, and Brown helped ART U push the margin back up to seven briefly, but Dominican came back with a quick 6-0 run to again be down by just one at 49-48.
With 7:29 left, the visitors took their first lead since the first half on an Allyssa Weatherd layup and they would not look back. Weatherd would get to the rim four times over the next six minutes as Dominican got up by as many as nine with four minutes to play. At one point, the Urban Knights scored eight unanswered on triples by Camera and Sheng as well as a layup from senior guard
Molly O'Brien, but missed shots combined with Dominican's made free throws to result in the Penguins' first-ever victory over ART U, 72-64, in 12 historical meetings.
Saturday saw the first conference loss for Academy of Art who moves to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in PacWest play this year. Sheng's 17 points were a team-high to go with five rebounds and five assists (now 237 assists as the new ART U career leader). Camera added 12 points including a 4-for-8 performance from distance with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Storey (10 points) was the third and final Urban Knight to score in double figures while Guinn added a game-high 14 rebounds, O'Brien finished with a career-high six steals, and Brown contributed 10 rebounds with nine points off the bench.
For the Penguins (6-5/3-2 PacWest), it was a big day for Weatherd who had a game-high 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field. Sarah Nelson finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks.
ART U heads back on the road with Southern California rematches coming against California Baptist (Jan. 10), Azusa Pacific (Jan. 12), and the season's first meeting with Point Loma (Jan. 14).
