Game #29ART U Urban Knights (18-10, 13-7 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (18-9, 14-6 PWC)
Thursday, March 5 at 1:45 p.m.Irvine, Calif. – Concordia University Arena
Live Stats & Live Video
ART U TO FACE AZUSA PACIFIC IN PACWEST TOURNEY OPENING ROUNDFor the third consecutive year, Academy of Art University Women's Basketball enters the Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament with NCAA Tournament aspirations and a tourney-tested team who own the back-to-back titles the past two seasons. In the opening round, the Urban Knights draw an Azusa Pacific team they defeated twice in 2014-15.
Check out the PacWest Tournament Homepage!OPENING TIPAcademy of Art opens the 2015 PacWest Conference Championship Tournament with a matchup against Azusa Pacific on Thursday, Mar. 5 at 1:45 p.m. inside Concordia University Arena down in Irvine, California. Free live coverage will be available via the
PacWest Portal.
Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. PURCHASE TICKETSSingle-day tickets are available for $10, providing access to all games on that day. All-tournament passes are available for $25, providing access to all games of the three-day event.
Credit/debit card purchases can only be made online. All tickets purchased at the arena are cash only. Proof of purchase is required at the gate, with either a printed ticket or receipt on a smartphone.
KNIGHT WATCHIt has now been seven consecutive games in which ART U opponents have committed 17+ turnovers with the Urban Knights still PacWest leaders in terms of turnover margin (4.79) and 17th in the country in that category. Academy of Art also remains the lone team in the conference to average double-digit steals per game (10.21) after achieving double figures in six of their last seven games. ART U is still tied with BYU-Hawaii for first in offensive rebounds per game (16.5) and both rank 16th in the country there. Finally, Academy of Art is third in scoring in the PacWest (74.5 points per game) behind Hawaii Pacific (83.4 ppg) and California Baptist (80.3 ppg).
After a
career-high 28 points at UH Hilo and an average of 24.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 steals in Hawaii, junior guard
Jasmin Guinn was named
PacWest Player of the Week this past Monday. She has become the team's leading scorer at 14.2 points per game (12th in PacWest), is fifth in the conference in steals (2.0 spg), and remains Top 10 in rebounding (7.9 rpg). Guinn also earned the title of the
program's top career rebounder after the game against BYU-Hawaii.
Not far behind at 13.5 points per game, junior guard
Zoie Sheng ranks seventh in the PacWest in terms of free throw percentage (.795) and is 12th in assists per game (2.9 apg). Two other Urban Knights are averaging double figures offensively with junior guard
Sha'Nice Storey at 11.7 points per game and junior guard
Regina Camera up to 10.6 points per game. Storey has now scored 936 points in her career and is closing in on
Alisa Griggs' all-time record of 974 point scored. In an all-around productive final two games on the islands, Camera averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.
COUGARS HAVE #5 ON ITWinners of their last three games heading into the tournament, Azusa Pacific finished the regular season with an 18-9 overall record and were 14-6 in PacWest play. In the two games against Academy of Art (
Dec. 20,
Jan. 12), the PacWest's second-leading scorer Kelly Hardeman averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds while Maggie Dumphy averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. In the historical matchup, the Knights and Cougars are tied 2-2.
SEA WARRIORS EMERGE #1The #1 seed in the tournament for the second time in the past three seasons, Hawaii Pacific earned the PacWest regular season title after posting a 23-4 overall record with an 18-2 conference record. The Sea Warriors have won six straight heading into the tourney including two close margins of victory over Point Loma and Azusa Pacific. HPU carries the PacWest's top scorer in Morganne Comstock (20.4 points per game) and second-highest rebounder (11.2 rebounds per game) though she was held to zero first half points when the Sea Warriors played the Urban Knights earlier this season in a game Hawaii Pacific won
72-71. HPU is up 8-4 all-time against Academy of Art.
LANCERS TWO-FOR-#2California Baptist enters the week with the #2 seed in the PacWest Tournament for the second consecutive season with a 23-5 overall record, 16-4 in conference play. The Lancers have won four of their last five, defeating BYU-Hawaii 80-54, but losing to Azusa Pacific 92-84. Courtney Nelson is CBU's top scorer at 15.6 points per game (fifth in PacWest) followed closely by Cassidy Mihalko at 15.1 ppg (seventh). An even 4-4 record has come out of the historical matchup between ART U and CBU after the teams split this year (
Dec. 16,
Jan. 10).
POINT #3In their first postseason to date since becoming full-fledged members of NCAA Division II this past summer, Point Loma is seeded #3 with an 18-10 overall record and 15-5 PacWest record. The Sea Lions ended the regular season by winning nine of their last 10 and four consecutive wins. Jessica Escorza is PLNU's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game (sixth in PacWest). Point Loma's first two victories (
Jan. 14,
Feb. 2) in the matchup history came this year, but ART U remains on top 3-2.
SEASIDERS SEEING #6 SEED Three consecutive wins finished off BYU-Hawaii's regular season including the 92-89 edging of ART U on
Feb. 26, giving the Seasiders a 15-11 overall record and 12-8 in the PacWest. BYUH boasts the combination of Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo (16.1 ppg) and Celeste Claw (12.8 ppg) who combined 38 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds in the most recent matchup with the Urban Knights. Academy of Art is up 9-4 all-time against the Seasiders.
KNIGHTS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON WITH WIN AT CHAMINADE Guinn showed that she truly enjoyed her trip to Hawaii, notching her third straight 20-point game in as many contests on the islands as the Academy of Art women's basketball team closed its regular season with a 69-59 Pacific West Conference victory over Chaminade at McCabe Gym on
Feb. 28. Camera and Sheng were also scored in double figures with 15 and 10, respectively. The Urban Knights' win secured them the No. 5 seed in the PacWest Conference Tournament after Azusa Pacific won earlier in the day to clinch the No. 4 spot.
LOOKING AHEAD A victory over Azusa Pacific would put the Urban Knights up against #1 seed Hawaii Pacific on Friday, Mar. 6 at 1:45 p.m. and the tournament title game is set for Saturday, Mar. 7 at 2:00 p.m.