SAN FRANCISCO – The Urban Knights paired aggressive defense with once again efficient offense to record their eighth straight victory, this one a 75-50 win over Dixie State at City College of San Francisco on Thursday night. Academy of Art pulled away early with a 17-3 run to end the first half and later pushed its advantage to as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter. Junior guard
Rodericka "Dreek" Ware and junior forward
Helena Orts each produced across three categories, scoring 20 points or more with double digits in assists and rebounds respectively while combining for 15 of the team's 26 steals (one shy of the program's single-game record).
"We stressed being more active defensively and I think we are making progress," said head coach
LaNay Larson. "26 steals is a good number and we are headed in the direction I am looking for."
After senior guard
Alana Simon, Ware, and junior guard
Jazzlyn Brewster each hit 3-pointers in the opening quarter, ART U took a 15-11 lead into the second. Despite sporting a poor record coming in, the Trailblazers hung tough early and even went up 16-15 in that period. However, Academy of Art's transition game began thriving from that point as 10 points off turnovers came during the aforementioned 17-3 run that ended the half. Orts had six straight points to start and Ware had five steals in roughly a six-minute span during the run.
Up 36-19 at halftime, the Urban Knights continued to pour it on in the third quarter where a stretch that included three consecutive 3-pointers made by Ware put ART U ahead by 25 points. Simon's triple to start the fourth made it 56-29 and the margin only briefly dropped below 20 as Academy of Art remained productive the rest of the way.
Now winners of eight consecutive games, ART U rises to 8-4 overall and 4-0 in PacWest play. Ware had her second-highest scoring output of the year with 25 points (9-for-17 from the field and 6-for-12 from long range) to go with a season-high 11 assists (one off the program record), and tied the program record set by four different Knights previously with eight steals (all by halftime). Orts finished with her sixth double-double of the year (her third in her past three games) in the form of 20 points (9-for-14 from the field) and 10 rebounds plus a season-high seven steals. Simon was the third Urban Knight to score in double figures with 14 points plus five steals.
"Orts and Dreek both had big games again and they are not only contributing in points, but also in a number of other categories," said Larson. "As they continue to grow, their stat lines are showing how they affect so many aspects of the game."
Dixie State drops to 1-12 overall and 1-6 in conference. Tramina Jordan was the team's high scorer with 16 points despite 10 turnovers. The Trailblazers' 32 turnovers as a team matched the high for an ART U opponent this season as BYU-Hawaii logged the same number on Dec. 5.
Academy of Art returns to action and San Rafael this Saturday, Jan. 7 for its first meeting with PacWest rival Dominican. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. back inside the Conlan Recreation Center.
"The game against Dominican is a big one for us," said Larson. "It will be our third game in five days so it's important that we focus on what we need to do and what we can control. While it's been great to have a big winning streak, our mindset is to continue to improve and keep winning one game at a time."
