IRVINE, Calif. – ART U women's basketball persevered after a nearly 400-mile travel day to defeat Concordia on the road 78-71 Saturday, using a 13-2 second quarter run to create separation and gain head coach
LaNay Larson her milestone 100th victory on the Academy of Art sidelines. The Urban Knights matched their season-high 21 assists for the second consecutive contest and had highly productive games from their four senior starters.
"Defense always leads to transition baskets and that gave us a cushion at times," said Larson. "I think we need to continue to battle through each game at this point as we are playing with such a big target on our back. We have to continue to play selfless on offense. I love our assist to turnover ratio, it says a lot about the way this team plays."
The teams were never separated by more than four points in the opening quarter and by its end the game returned to a tie score at 16-16. Though Academy of Art could not string together enough scores and stops in the first frame, the Knights found their rhythm in the second.
Senior guard
Zoie Sheng knocked down a 3-pointer to give her team a 21-19 lead then senior guard
Sha'Nice Storey added two triples and senior guards
Jasmin Guinn and
Regina Camera put in layups to fuel the 13-2 run. Now up by double digits at 31-21, the ART U bench unit worked to maintain that margin as junior guard
Jasmine Rubin and sophomore guard
Desiree Harris determinedly seized their opportunities. At the half, the Knights led 39-29.
Baskets by Camera and Storey put the Academy of Art advantage to 13 points on separate occasions, but the Eagles steadily worked their way back with a 6-0 run. ART U countered with an 8-2 surge to start the fourth quarter in which Storey was everywhere. She grabbed an offensive rebound, found junior forward
D'Andree Galipeau then scored in transition and soon helped her squad gain a 69-52 lead with a 3-pointer.
On its own Senior Night, Concordia refused to give in and fought back with a 9-1 push to give them a chance at a comeback with three minutes left. Soon down just seven with the clock showing 1:35, CUI fell victim to the one-two punch of Guinn's layup and a jumper by Sheng to effectively seal what would be a 78-71 win.
The Knights' 20th win of the season gave Larson her 100th in a five-year career at Academy of Art. It marks the team's third time reaching 20 wins in the past three seasons. ART U is now 20-6 overall and 15-1 in conference play having breakout games up and down the lineup.
Guinn delivered her 10th double-double by way of 17 points and 14 rebounds in addition to seven assists and three steals. Storey had a team-high 19 points (3-for-6 from long range) and four assists. Both Camera (15 points, five rebounds, and five assists) and Sheng (11 points, five rebounds, five assists) stuffed the stat sheet as well. With her first assist in the opening quarter, Sheng achieved a milestone of 400 in her career.
Concordia drops to 2-20 overall and 1-16 in the PacWest despite a game-high 24 points from Gaby Johnson and 10 more from Zoe Goss.
Academy of Art closes out its roadtrip with a rematch at Point Loma on Monday, Feb. 14. Tipoff against the Sea Lions, who had won nine straight before falling to No. 19 Azusa Pacific, is at 5 p.m.
"Point Loma is a very good and disciplined team and it's always been a hard place for us to play," said Larson. "We have to get some legs back and keep playing our style. I'm confident the girls will bounce back and that they realize the importance of this game."
