OAKLAND, Calif. – For Academy of Art University women's basketball, the week ended much like it began; with a Pacific West Conference victory. ART U defeated Holy Names on the road in Tobin Gymnasium on Sunday by a score of 74-64. Coming out of the gate strong, the Urban Knights never trailed, outscoring the Hawks in three of four quarters and holding HNU to just 34 percent shooting from the field.

After junior guard Rodericka Ware knocked down a 3-pointer just 12 seconds into the game, Academy of Art immediately launched into a defensive press that resulted in six points off turnovers (all layups by junior forward Helena Orts) and an 11-1 lead by the seven minute and 34 second mark. Triples by Ware and freshman guard Kennadi Miller helped ART U force its largest lead, 25-12, before five straight points by the Hawks brought the margin under double digits heading to the second quarter.

"I thought we started out the game very aggressive and forced some early turnovers and tough shots," said head coach LaNay Larson. "We need to be able to sustain that intensity throughout the game. With a short rotation I thought we fought well through the tough stretches and got stops when we needed down the stretch."

The second was HNU's best quarter of the evening as they cut down the Knights' lead to four on multiple occasions including the halftime score, 37-33. Though Orts converted a layup and junior guard Jazzlyn Brewster hit a 3-pointer for an early second half boost, Holy Names had the margin down to three at 46-43 midway through. Freshman forward Elle Williams then contributed five points in a 7-0 run to return the advantage to double digits and later a 5-0 run keyed by junior guard Hayley Pryor's triple made it 60-53 to start the fourth quarter.

Both teams cooled off in the final frame as they collectively scored just seven points in the first six minutes, but a jumper and a three-point play by Orts gave ART U the boost it needed to elevate further and seal the 74-64 win with free throws from Ware and Brewster.

Academy of Art rises above .500 with the win, moving to 5-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Ware posted a game-high 18 points with five assists and four rebounds while Orts matched her season-high with 16 points and six rebounds. Four other Knights scored seven or more points including Williams whose 13 points were a season-high.

"Offensively the balance was good," said Larson. "I thought we had good contributions from a lot of players and I feel like we have enough weapons where if someone has an off-night other people can step up and shoulder that load. Our ball movement is getting better and I liked our assist-to-turnover ratio."

Holy Names drops to 1-8 overall and 1-2 in the PacWest. Garysha Youngblood had a team-high 16 points while Tatiana Howard delivered a game-high 16 rebounds in 24 minutes.

The calendar year will be complete this Saturday, Dec. 17 after ART U hosts Cal State Monterey Bay in a non-conference matchup back at Kezar Pavilion. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.

"Our focus from here on out will be rebounding," said Larson. "We have continued to let people play with us by giving up too many offensive boards."