Game #23
ART U Urban Knights (15-7, 11-3 PWC) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors (13-10, 7-6 PWC)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 5:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
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Game #24
ART U Urban Knights (15-7, 11-3 PWC) vs. Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans (10-11, 7-6 PWC)
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 5:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
Twitter updates

Game #25
ART U Urban Knights (15-7, 11-3 PWC) vs. Grand Canyon Antelopes (18-3, 11-4 PWC)
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
Twitter updates

ART U RETURNS TO KEZAR FOR FINAL FOUR GAMES OF 2011-12
Academy of Art University women's basketball toppled the mountain that was No. 16 Grand Canyon this past week to regain their spot atop the Pacific West Conference standings. Now with four games left and all of them at Kezar Pavilion, ART U heads into literally the home stretch with contests coming this week against Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo, and GCU.

OPENING TIP
The Urban Knights begin their final homestand at Kezar Pavilion with a rematch against HPU on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and then ART U hosts Hawaii-Hilo on Thursday, Feb. 23. The week concludes with a Saturday, Feb. 25 pairing between the Knights and Grand Canyon. Tuesday and Thursday's games will both begin at 5:00 PM while Saturday's contest starts at 12:00 PM. Live Stats, Live Audio, and Twitter updates will be available for these games. Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

FAN BUS SIGN UP
If you are headed to the games this week or next Saturday for Homecoming, be sure to sign up for the FAN BUS at the following link: http://bit.ly/eC8mrO - Go to Basketball and click through to the game you are attending.

CRUNCHING THE CAPTAINS' NUMBERS
Sophomore forward Alisa Griggs continues to approach ART U's single season record of 10 PacWest Weekly Top 10 honors with yet another two weeks ago. Griggs now ranks among the top PacWest scorers (13.9 ppg – 7th) and rebounders (8.2 rpg – 5th). Senior guard Devin London recently became the third Urban Knight ever to break the 100-steal mark and she remains among the PacWest leaders in that category. London is in the Top 5 with an average of 2.5 steals per game along with 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in 2011-12. Senior guard Lorraine Etchell, who continues to move north of the 800-point barrier she broke two weeks ago, now has 824 total career points, is second in career steals (103) and remains on the verge of assuming a second place ranking in several other career categories. She needs three more blocks and seven assists to move on up.

KNIGHT WATCH
Holders of the best record in the PacWest, Academy of Art still ranks first in the conference in offensive (17.8) and defensive (28.3) rebounds per game as well as first in steals per game (12.0), second in blocked shots per game (4.2), third in assists per game (14.6), and fourth in points per game (68.8). Freshman guard Vianai Austin represented ART U on the most recent PacWest Weekly Top 10 after scoring 11 points (3-of-3 from distance) in 21 efficient minutes at GCU. After five thefts at Dixie, sophomore forward Ariel Dale is tied for second in the PacWest in steals per game (2.6) and is one of the Top 30 scorers (8.0 ppg) and Top 15 rebounders (5.4 rpg). Junior guard Nicol Biesek has already set the program's new single-season blocks record (21) with four games still left and she leads a trio of Urban Knights (along with Dale and London) who have cracked the Top 10 in the conference for assists per game (Biesek averages 2.7 apg). Junior center Juliua Fraser has quietly also broken the previous single-season blocks record with her 19 rejections thus far in 2011-12. She and Biesek are both among the Top 7 in the PacWest, averaging 0.9 bpg and 1.0 bpg respectively.

HAULTING HAWAII PACIFIC
At the end of Academy of Art University's Hawaii roadtrip, the Knights went down to the wire with the Sea Warriors in an overtime contest. Though HPU fought back with two miraculous 3-pointers from Melody Ladrido in that one, ART U made its free throws down the stretch to hold on for an 81-78 victory. Since that time, Hawaii Pacific, who currently sits in the middle of the PacWest standings tied with Hawaii-Hilo, defeated Cal Baptist 77-69, but then lost four of five. HPU has now resumed its winning ways with victories over Dominican and Notre Dame de Namur most recently in which Paris Gravely averaged 26.0 points per game and was at one point named PacWest Player of the Week. The Sea Warriors are currently shooting the best field goal percentage in the conference (.426) and a big reason for that is the team's PacWest-leading .344 three-point percentage. HPU also averages more assists per game (16.4) than any other PacWest team and they have done so thanks in large part to Taiyande Huskey's 4.2 apg (2nd in PacWest). Of course, the squad could not be doing what it's doing without Mana Hopkins, the conference's second-leading scorer at 17.2 ppg, and Gravely who adds 14.0 ppg. Hawaii Pacific has the 5-1 series advantage, but the Knights' victory came earlier this year.

VARRYING VULCANS
With Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo is part of a two-way tie for fifth place in the PacWest standings at the current time. After falling 58-46 to Academy of Art in Hilo, the Vulcans went 0-3 on their roadtrip to Grand Canyon, Cal Baptist, and Dixie State, but came back and won against CBU 58-55 on Jan. 28. The Vulcans then nearly knocked off GCU themselves in a 65-59 overtime loss to the 'Lopes on Feb. 4. UHH has since defeated NDNU and Dominican while in California. The team continues to be led by Hillary Hurley, a big post presence, who is averaging 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. The Vulcans defend the three-point line better than any other team in the PacWest and the tandem of Kirsten Shimizu and Jameia McDuffie have been dangerous defensively, amassing 63 steals at the guard position. Hawaii-Hilo, who is an even 3-3 in the series with ART U, will take on NDNU (Feb. 21) prior to facing the Urban Knights at Kezar Pavilion this Thursday.

AFTER THE ANTELOPES
Grand Canyon, along with Academy of Art, is one of four teams currently competing for the PacWest Championship. Prior to last Monday, GCU had only been dealt two losses all season (one to NDNU and one to HPU), but the Urban Knights were up to the challenge and defeated the Antelopes 72-69 inside GCU Arena. The 'Lopes, however, remain owners of the top defenses in the country, holding their opponents to just 50.8 points per game. Rebounding, which kept Grand Canyon so close in the game against ART U, has also been their signature category with a PacWest-leading +11.5 rebounding margin. Maylinn Smith ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (.916), but converted just 3-of-4 at the line against the Knights. Nonetheless, she also averages 16.1 points per game (3rd in the PacWest) and Jallisa Butler, who had 21 points and nine rebounds against Academy of Art, holds a second place conference ranking in rebounds (9.9 rpg). ART U's recent victory was their first against Grand Canyon who holds a 4-1 edge historically. Prior to coming out to the Bay Area, GCU will host BYU-Hawaii (Feb. 20) and Chaminade (Feb. 22) this week.

ACADEMY OF ART KNOCKS OFF #16 GRAND CANYON, ASSUMES FIRST PLACE ONCE AGAIN
Up against the only nationally ranked opponent in the PacWest at the time, ART U bounced back in a big way after sustaining a tough loss to Dixe State two nights prior. Though the Urban Knights' historic nine-game win streak came to an end with an 80-64 defeat at the hands of the Red Storm in St. George, UT, Academy of Art pulled off an incredible upset by topping GCU 72-69.

As just the second team this season to hold a first half lead over the Antelopes, ART U amassed a 41-36 halftime advantage by way of a 13-3 run and later an 8-0 burst which all featured the long ball. After one half of play, the Knights had made seven of their 10 three-point attempts with Austin nailing all three of her shots from distance in a boost off the bench. As one might have expected from the No. 16 team in the country, Grand Canyon worked its way back into the game and eventually tied it at 56-56 and then again 58-58 with just over six minutes left. Griggs and Rogers combined to score the 10 of Academy of Art's final 14 points and give the Knights not only an upset victory, but also a spot at the top of the PacWest standings yet again.

LOOKING AHEAD
As the 2011-12 season approaches its grand finale, Academy of Art now has one last contest left on the schedule. This year's Senior Day will take place on Saturday, Mar. 3 at Kezar Pavilion when Notre Dame de Namur comes to town for a PacWest rematch beginning at 12:00 PM.