Game #15
ART U Urban Knights (9-5, 5-1 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (7-9, 5-3 PWC)
Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 1 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Felix Event Center
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (9-5, 5-1 PWC) vs. No. 11 California Baptist Lancers (16-2, 7-0 PWC)
Monday, January 16, 2017 at 5 p.m.
Riverside, Calif. – Van Dyne Gym
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART MAKES FIRST OF TWO TRIPS TO SOCAL
Having won nine of their last 10 games, Academy of Art University women's basketball approaches one of its toughest tests of the year with games against defending Pacific West Conference regular season champions Azusa Pacific and No. 11 California Baptist over a three-day period.

OPENING TIP
On Saturday, Jan. 14, ART U is set to face Azusa Pacific inside the Felix Event Center at 1 p.m. Two days later on Jan. 16, the Knights match up with No. 11 California Baptist at the Lancers' Van Dyne Gym in Riverside. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Up to 14th in the country in steals per game (12.1) at the start of this week, Academy of Art has also moved to the top in the PacWest in that category. Additionally, the Knights are now third in turnover margin (3.29). PacWest Defender of the Week junior guard Rodericka Ware tied the program record with eight steals against Dixie State last week and is now second in the conference in steals per game (2.9) as well as top 25 in the country. She has also risen to third in the PacWest in scoring (18.9 points per game) after averaging 23.0 points in her last eight games. She ranks fourth in the conference in assists (4.5 apg). Over half of her field goal attempts have been from long range and she remains atop the PacWest with 3.1 triples made per game.

Second in the conference in field goal percentage (.535), junior forward Helena Orts comes off a nine-game stretch in which she shot 58 percent from the field to now average 12.5 points (17th in PacWest) plus 9.2 rebounds per game (sixth in PacWest). Seven double-doubles including her most recent 19-point and season-high 15-rebound effort also rank top 25 in all of NCAA Division II. Seventh and 12th in the PacWest in steals per game respectively, junior guard Jazzlyn Brewster (2.1 spg) and senior guard Alana Simon (1.9 spg) join Ware and Orts (2.0, 11th in PacWest) all among the conference's top 12 in steals per game.

A DAY AT THE ZU
Azusa Pacific opened the year 2-2 with wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Western Washington, but then lost five of its next six games with a challenging schedule that featured Seattle Pacific (now ranked No. 14 nationally), UC San Diego, and California Baptist. Since that time, the Cougars have won four of six, having only lost to Hawaii Pacific and the Lancers once more on Jan. 12. Azusa Pacific made to the NCAA Tournament semifinals last year where they dropped an 87-77 decision to UCSD. Hanging their hat on efficiency from long range (33 percent) and offensive rebounding (13 orpg), APU is ranked second in both in the PacWest, the team's top offensive threat is Abigail Goodsell who averages 14.9 points per game including 2.6 3-pointers made per game Gabrielle Kaiser adds 14.5 points per game along with the most offensive rebounds on the squad (33). Having met six times thus far, Azusa Pacific is 4-2 all-time against Academy of Art.

A CHANCE AT THE LANCE
Coming off a year in which they shared the PacWest regular season title with Azusa Pacific, reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals, and were tabbed the preseason favorite by the conference's coaches, No. 11 California Baptist has lived up to the hype. Entering the week, CBU ranked fourth in the country in scoring (86.3 points per game), sixth in field goal percentage (.474), and ninth in three-point field goals made per game (9.1). The Lancers only two losses through their first 18 games came to University of Mary and UC San Diego in the first week of action and California Baptist has since rattled off 13 wins in a row (scoring in triple digits on three occasions). Cassidy Mihalko, the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year, is second in the conference in scoring (20.5 ppg) and was 11th in the country in field goal percentage (.568) with the second-most field goals made by any NCAA DII player entering the week. Despite three losses to the Lancers last year, ART U is 4-7 in its historical matchup with CBU.

STRONG SECOND HALF PUSHES ART U PAST SWORDS
Although Academy of Art trailed Chaminade at halftime, the Jan. 10 PacWest Conference matchup had a happy ending for ART U. The Urban Knights outscored the Silverswords by 19 points in the second half to win going away 71-58. It was the tandem of junior guard Rodericka Ware and junior forward Helena Orts who accounted for 28 of their team's 43 points in the third and fourth quarters, ending with 23 and 19 points respectively.

LOOKING AHEAD
When the Knights return from Southern California, they will open a three-game homestand that features Dominican (Jan. 19), Notre Dame de Namur (Jan. 22), and Fresno Pacific (Jan. 25).