Game #25
ART U Urban Knights (18-6, 15-1 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (9-12, 9-6 PWC)
Monday, February 17, 2014 at 5:30 PM
Fresno, CA – Special Events Center
Live Stats & Live Video

A SUNBIRDS STANDOFF STARTS THE WEEK
Riding an eight-game win streak after a nail-biting win over Notre Dame de Namur this past Saturday, ART U Women's Basketball is set to spend Monday in Fresno where the Urban Knights matchup with the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds for the first time in 2013-14.

OPENING TIP
Getting an early start to the week, ART U travels to Fresno for a 5:30 PM tipoff against Fresno Pacific on Monday, Feb. 17. The game is set to be played inside the Sunbirds' Special Events Center. Live coverage will be available via the link above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Academy of Art sits at sixth in the country with a +6.78 turnover margin and is still the highest scoring team in the PacWest as well as ranked 26th in NCAA Division II in that category (79.4 points per game).  The Knights are also 26th in the nation in steals at 10.9 spg. Krystal Forthan recently continued her streak of nine consecutive double-doubles with her 19-point, 13-rebound performance at NDNU. She currently averages a double-double at 18.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game to go with 2.2 blocks, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 assists per game. Regina Camera, she of the five consecutive games with at least 14 points and three rebounds, comes into Monday averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Zoie Sheng adds 10.8 points and 3.0 assists per game while Jasmin Guinn has proved to dominate the hustle categories with 3.7 offensive rebounds (1st in PacWest) and 2.3 steals per game (4th in PacWest). She had her ninth double-double of the season at NDNU with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Molly O'Brien, who scored all of her 12 points in the second half against the Argos, rises to a 10.6 points per game average with a glowing 47.8 field goal percentage good for fourth in the league behind teammate Alisa Griggs' 50.7 percent which leads the PacWest. Sha'Nice Storey has finally tied Jordan Rogers for the all-time 3-pointers made with 85 to date. She averages 10.3 points per game with 1.4 triples made per game.

SUNBIRDS BURNING BRIGHT OF LATE
After starting the year with eight consecutive losses (including a 75-46 result to Western Washington and a pair to Northwest Nazarene), Fresno Pacific notched its first win of the year with a 56-54 triumph over California Baptist on Dec. 14. It was three wins in four games from that point as the Sunbirds offed Dominican 62-53 and Holy Names 88-82 in overtime at the start of the calendar year. The Lancers exacted their revenge with a 76-69 victory that was followed by two more losses for FPU. However, a three-game win streak hosting Hawaii's Chaminade (75-61), Hawaii Pacific (67-63), and UH Hilo (66-58) sent Fresno Pacific on its way for a six-game victorious trail. A sweep of NDNU and Holy Names brought FPU up to nine conference wins, but Point Loma's 85-75 win made it six in the loss column for the Sunbirds. In 21 games thus far, Fresno Pacific is led by Charde Stevens (11.7 ppg) and Jenay Herring (11.2 ppg, 1.3 3PTM) on a team that is tied with HPU and Azusa Pacific for the best collective field goal percentage in the PacWest (41 percent). When ART U and FPU met last season, it took a Knights push in the final six minutes to seal a 66-59 victory that saw Jasmin Guinn score 14 points off the bench, helping counteract 18 points from Keairra White. That was the first meeting to date between the two teams.

WOMEN'S HOOPS PULLS OUT 88-83 WIN AT NDNU
ART U Women's Basketball found itself in a close back-and-forth battle with Bay Area rival Notre Dame de Namur Saturday afternoon, but big free throws from Zoie Sheng down the stretch managed to keep the Urban Knights in front for the 88-83 win. Down eight points in a first half fraught with foul trouble, ART U bounced back to score 53 second half points led by Regina Camera and Molly O'Brien en route to its 18th victory of the year.

LOOKING AHEAD
Later this week, ART U plays host to Dixie State at SF State's Main Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 22 then makes a quick trip to San Rafael for a Feb. 24 matchup with Dominican.