After guiding Academy of Art University women's basketball to not one but three Pacific West Conference Championships in the past three seasons, fifth-year head coach LaNay Larson and a veteran-laden Urban Knights squad this week begin their quest to return to the top in 2015-16.

Battling through a challenging 2014-15 campaign, the Knights persevered to win 16+ games for the fourth consecutive season, earn a conference tournament berth, and achieve multiple record-setting milestones. For a full recap of the 2014-15 season, click here!

With the Disney Classic Tournament (Live Stats | Live Audio) opening their 2015-16 schedule, ART U will not only play more games than any previous regular season (30), but the Knights also start earlier as they meet their first opponent, New York Institute of Technology, on Oct. 30. That matchup will be the first of three in the Disney Classic with Winona State (Oct. 31) and Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 1) to follow. Anchorage comes off a historic 2014-15 season in which the Seawolves went 29-2 overall record and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the final month of the regular season before falling to Point Loma in the NCAA Tournament. For a complete breakdown of the Knights' 2015-16 schedule, click here!

A quartet of four-year senior guards, Jasmin Guinn, Zoie Sheng, Sha'Nice Storey, and Regina Camera, compose the heart and soul of the 2015-16 Academy of Art squad. En route to winning back-to-back PacWest Conference Tournament Championships and a PacWest regular season title as underclassmen, this group became fixtures in the starting lineup and now each has the opportunity to score 1,000 career points in their final season. Guinn, an All-PacWest First Team honoree in 2014-15, comes into this year as a member the 2015-16 Preseason All-PacWest Team.

The senior class deepens with senior center Caron Brown as well as redshirt senior guards Vianai Austin and Alex Washington. Brown was the team-leader in blocks last season while Austin provided versatile minutes as a key reserve. Washington, a transfer from Cape Fear Community College, makes her debut this year.

Continuing a roster loaded with upperclassmen, ART U returns guard Irene Aranda and forward D'Andree Galipeau while adding transfer forwards Priscilla Mora (San Joaquin Delta College) and Pre'Franz Dominick (Kilgore College). Lone sophomore guard Desiree Harris joined the Urban Knights as a redshirt in 2014-15 following her time at University of Colorado and freshman guard Maria Valdeolmillos-Gómez brings championship-level experience from her time in Granada, Spain.

Led by veteran experience core both on the court and on the sidelines, Academy of Art begins its journey toward another postseason this week in Anaheim.