Game #20
ART U Urban Knights (12-7, 8-3 PWC) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (15-3, 9-2 PWC)
Wednesday, January 28, 2017 at 2 p.m.
San Diego, Calif. – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

ART U SEES SEA LIONS FOR FIRST TIME
Building back some momentum with recent wins over Notre Dame de Namur and Fresno Pacific, Academy of Art University women's basketball is set to match up with Point Loma to finish out the month of January.

OPENING TIP
Back in Southern California, ART U faces Point Loma at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 28 inside Golden Gymnasium. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Top 20 in the country in steals per game (11.37) and the PacWest leaders, Academy of Art is led by the major one-two punch of junior guard Rodericka Ware and junior forward Helena Orts who have combined to average 37.3 points per game in the 12 contests ART U has won. Ware has done much of her damage from long range (she averages a PacWest-best 2.9 triples per game) and ranks third in the conference in scoring (18.7 ppg), second in steals (2.6 spg), and fourth in assists (4.1 apg). She also is now 24 3-pointers from setting the program's single-season record. Orts is second in the PacWest in field goal percentage (.544) and comes off a career-high 32 points in her most recent matchup with FPU. She has moved up to eighth in the conference in scoring (15.1 ppg) and remains sixth in rebounding (8.8 rpg) after posting nine double-doubles thus far. 

GETTING TO THE POINT
After being picked to finish fifth in the PacWest with three players on the All-PacWest Preseason Team, Point Loma has exceeded expectations thus far. The Sea Lions are third in the standings with a 9-2 conference record and just three losses on the year. Win streaks of four games and nine games have been broken up by defeats to Cal State Los Angeles, California Baptist, and Azusa Pacific. Most recently, PLNU, who leads the PacWest in scoring defense (allowing 57.0 points per game by opponents), returned to its winning ways by topping Concordia on Jan. 21. The Sea Lions are also atop the conference in turnover margin (4.83) and rank second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.11) with Anna Viettry and Roya Rustamzada's ratios both in the top five. Alex Brunk is the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game and Rustamzada is fifth in the PacWest in rebounding (9.0 rpg). In eight previous meetings, Academy of Art is 6-2 versus Point Loma.

ORTS DROPS 32 POINTS IN 74-72 WIN OVER FPU
In its second consecutive Pacific West Conference matchup decided in the final minutes, ART U women's basketball rallied in the fourth quarter against Fresno Pacific for a 74-72 victory on Jan. 25. Academy of Art earned the win on free throws in the waning seconds after Helena Orts scored 10 of her career-high 32 points in the fourth period alone.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Urban Knights will return home next week for a Feb. 2 rematch with Holy Names back inside Kezar Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.