Box Score
Photo Gallery (images by Rob Garcia)

Honolulu, HI – In the first and only regular season meeting of Academy of Art University and Hawaii Pacific, the Urban Knights forced a season-best 29 turnovers en route to their 75-72 win over the Sea Warriors. ART U found itself locked in a free throw battle late, but managed to convert down the stretch, not allowing their opponent a second half lead in the victory. Alisa Griggs' 14 points paced yet another balanced attack of five Urban Knights scoring in double figures.

"I always feel like we feed off of our defense, so when it's good we are good. When it's complacent, we are on both ends of the court," head coach LaNay Larson said. "I thought the first half we played with a lot of energy and defense turned into instant offense for us."

An early 5-2 lead for Hawaii Pacific was short-lived as the Urban Knights rallied for a 22-3 burst that began with a layup by Griggs. ART U converted from the foul line initially and midway through heated up for seven unanswered including five from Sha'Nice Storey. Despite a two-minute scoring drought on both sides, Krystal Forthan's jumper with 10:43 left gave Academy of Art its largest lead of the day at 15, 26-11.

Down the stretch in the opening half, the Sea Warriors began their first comeback with an 8-0 run highlighted by Skye Savini's 3-pointer and a three-point play from Ieva Nagy. Another triple from Storey and free throws by Zoie Sheng and D'Andree Galipeau brought the ART U lead back to double digits, but HPU whittled it down to eight, 39-31, at halftime.

Griggs got two baskets early in the second period to become the program's new career leader in field goals made (308), however, those were followed by a 13-6 surge by Hawaii Pacific that tied the game 49-49 with 14 minutes left. The comeback did not see the Sea Warriors find a lead though as Griggs got a layup and soon a jumper by Forthan along with Galipeau free throws created some separation.

Midway through the second half, Academy of Art went up by seven, 63-56 on a Jasmin Guinn jumper and Aleigh Krug layup then again reached double digits, 68-58, on Storey's third triple of the day. The Knights were not out of the woods yet though because an 8-1 run brought HPU right back to within three.

The game then became a back-and-forth free throw shootout. Forthan's pair put ART U up by five, 71-66, but two from Laken McCleland made it a two-point game, 72-70. Guinn tossed in two of her own on the Knights' side and McClelland answered at the foul line once again. Clutching a 74-72 advantage, Guinn headed to the stripe twice more in the last 30 seconds and, though she converted one of those four, Academy of Art forced one more turnover to seal the 75-72.

"Second half, we came out stagnant and it showed," Coach Larson said. "We let them back in the game and the momentum shift affected us. Against good teams like HPU, we have got to learn that consistency is key and not just getting a lead but expanding on it is crucial."

The Urban Knights rise to 8-5 overall and 5-0 in PacWest play while Coach Larson is now 8-0 on the Hawaiian Islands. Griggs, the conference's field goal percentage leader, stayed atop the list with a 6-of-11 performance that gave her 14 points to go with three rebounds. Forthan added 11 points and six rebounds in her second game as an Urban Knight and Storey contributed 11 points (3-of-7 3PT) off the bench as well. Guinn had her fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds and O'Brien finished with 10 points to go with six rebounds and five assists.

Hawaii Pacific drops to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in conference despite a balanced scoring effort of its own. The Sea Warriors' leading scorer was Nagy with 17 points while Morganne Comstock posted a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double. Both players fouled out and combined for nine of the team's 29 turnovers.

ART U continues its Hawaii roadtrip with a matchup against BYU-Hawaii on Monday, Jan. 6 in Laie.

"It's an ever evolving process," Coach Larson said. "We are still a young, maturing team looking to maximize our abilities and finish out the trip undefeated."