“It is extremely important to head into our Hawaii trip with confidence and I think this win is exactly what we needed. Not only did we win, we player well and everyone contributed”, Said Head Coach Lindsey Yamasaki.

The Urban Knights and the Penguins had a back and fourth battle early in the first half. AAU, however, struck first; Sondra Stilwell knocked down a three at the start of the half, but on the next play Dominicans' leading scorer, Alisha Flaaten, came down and hit one of her own. Early turnovers by AAU allowed the Penguins to go up by as many as six point's midway through the half. It was back-to-back fastbreak points for the Urban Knights that got AAU back into the game. The run was sparked by a lay-up by Madeline Houston. On the next play Verity Peets stole the ball and a streaking Lorraine Etchell was hit by a pass from Jessica Nolan to bring the Urban Knights to within two points. AAU took their first lead of the game at 6:25 and after the seventh tie and it was all AAU for the remainder of the game. The Urban Knights would extend their lead to as many 10 points but would go into the locker room up seven, 40-33.

AAU came out at the half and extended their lead to 11 points within the first two minutes. The Urban Knights looked like a well oiled machine as they continued to gradually expand their lead over the next 18 minutes. The Academy of Art defense stepped up during the half holding the Penguins scoreless for six minutes as they increased their lead to as many as 20, 68-48 with four minutes to go. AAU was outscored in the final minutes, 9-7, but ultimately took the contest 75-55.

AAU caused DU to turn the ball over 24 times and capitalized off them by scoring 27 points off those turnovers. AAU, who normally averages about 25 turnovers a game, cut down on them tonight as they finished with 18, which is low for the young squad.

“Turnovers are the bane of basketball coaches' existence everywhere. We work every day on fundamentals and taking care of the ball and tonight we showed improvement. Our goal is to limit our turnovers to 12 a game, which is asking a lot for a team that averages about 25 a game, I wouldn't be doing my team any favors if I lowered that goal. The best we can do is work hard to improve and be more deliberate with the ball.”

For the Penguins Alisha Flaaten was one shy of her average tonight, she finished with 14 points, had three assists and two steals. She shot 5-11 from the field and was four of seven from behind the arc. Mac Bakerville contributed nine points, while Kimi Nakamura added eight points and four rebounds.

AAU was lead by Nolan who finished with 16 points on 6-10 shooting. She also grabbed a team high seven rebounds and dished out five assists. “Jess has begun to embrace her role on this team as our “go to” player. She is composed, has great vision and has the ability to push the tempo for our team as well as bang down low and rebound. I have continued to remind her that she needs to take over sometimes and help get our team on track. I am extremely happy with her effort, intensity and how she has stepped up game after game”, said Yamasaki of Nolans' performance. Etchell and Stilwell each added 13 points in the win, with Stilwell dishing out four assists, and Etchell grabbing five boards.

The Urban Knights are off to Hawaii where they will face University of Hawaii-Hilo in their first of four games.