Box Score AZUSA, Calif. – In a bit of déjà vu against Azusa Pacific, Academy of Art University women's basketball rallied from down seven late to defeat the Cougars on their home court 69-66. Leading the charge in a 12-2 run to end the game, junior guards
Jasmin Guinn and
Sha'Nice Storey combined to score 41 points in the victory.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team right now,"
said head coach LaNay Larson. "From top to bottom, we got contributions from everywhere that were key in the second half and really turned the corner. We needed this to get our confidence back and know that we have a very good team still out there. I thought the 26 points off turnovers won us this game. We always talk about what we can control and that starts on the defensive end."
ART U struggled shooting in the early going and APU quickly pounced, taking a 12-3 lead to start. After a head's up play in which redshirt junior guard
Vianai Austin seamlessly turned a blocked shot into a layup, the Knights came right back with a 7-0 run that included Storey's first strike from long range. Academy of Art was within two points, however, Azusa Pacific never relinquished its lead through the first period.
Guinn converted a three-point play, but Kelly Hardeman hit back-to-back triples to reestablish the Cougars' advantage. Junior guard
Zoie Sheng worked in tandem with Guinn to again cut the margin to a single basket and yet another 7-0 APU run temporarily warded off the Knights.
Coming out of the halftime locker room up 35-29, Azusa Pacific rose ahead by eight, but a steady 7-0 ART U push capped by redshirt senior guard
Madeline Martin finding sophomore forward
D'Andree Galipeau for a bucket made it a one-point game with 16 minutes and 27 seconds left. As had been the trend, Azusa Pacific rallied once more to go up eight, but this time Academy of Art scored 10 unanswered beginning with a 3-pointer from Storey.
Martin would assist the game-tying layup by junior center
Caron Brown and senior guard
Molly O'Brien then set up Storey for a jumper which put the Knights ahead for the first time in the game at 10:43 in the second half. ART U kept APU from reclaiming an advantage for the next four minutes, but a pair of 3-pointers and free throws eventually had the home team up by seven with 2:54 left.
A layup by Brown then keyed the final stretch in which Academy of Art outscored the Cougars 12-2 thanks in large part to 3-pointers nailed by Sheng and Storey. It was Storey's which took her team from down two to up one with 1:17 left, but they were not out of the woods yet. After a Sheng free throw, APU missed a layup which would have tied and Guinn made a free throw to effectively seal it for the Knights 69-66.
"Jasmin had another huge game on both ends of the floor," said Larson. "Shani shot the ball with confidence in the second half and that was huge."
Academy of Art reached double digits in the win column on Monday, now sporting a 10-5 overall record (5-2 in PacWest). Storey led the way with a game-high 22 points including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. Guinn finished with 19 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Sheng added 11 points, three stelas, and distributed all six of her assists in the second half.
"Zoie does a great job of being that leader who keeps everyone up and she does all the little things down the stretch," said Larson.
Azusa Pacific drops to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in conference despite having four players score in double figures, two of whom had double-doubles. Hardeman offered 15 points and 15 rebounds while Maggie Dumphy turned in 12 points and 12 rebounds.
ART U will complete its Southern California roadtrip on Wednesday, Jan. 14 inside Point Loma's Golden Gymnasium. Tipoff between the Knights and Sea Lions is set for 5:30 p.m.
"We have another big game Wednesday so we will enjoy this win, but quickly turn our focus to a tough Point Loma team that always plays well at home," said Larson.
