SAN FRANCISCO – Both Academy of Art and Point Loma tipped off their first Pacific West Conference matchup of the season and played one another closely through the first half and for much of the fourth quarter. A 19-8 scoring differential in the third, however, helped the Sea Lions come away victorious 83-65 inside Kezar Pavilion on Thursday evening.

"Point Loma is tough competition and they came into this game with confidence," said head coach Camille Williams. "We have to build our own confidence and our players have to realize that they have to band together, support one another, and make sure that's displayed possession by possession."

After scoring right away on a layup by junior guard Josselyn Morris, the Urban Knights grabbed a 9-4 lead to start, but an 8-0 surge late in the first quarter saw the visitors move in front 21-15. Junior guard Brianna Cates nailed a jumper to finish a hard-earned possession in the last seconds of the quarter and ART U saw just four points separating themselves from PLNU going into the second frame.

"We were trying different matchups and limit their shots given their size in the post," said Williams. "We're still working on improving every game. In this case, we needed our team chemistry the most."

Free throws helped keep Academy of Art close in the second as junior forward Ines Medina and Cates worked the margin down to four points midway through and sophomore forward Megan Jefferson added a layup to cap a 6-0 push to make it 29-27 Sea Lions. Much of the final three minutes were spent on Point Loma's end, however, as a 10-2 run was finally stopped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from freshman guard Chanel Stuart. That would make it a 46-36 halftime score favoring PLNU.

Though the first point of the third quarter was a Morris free throw, a 9-2 Sea Lion run followed and later two triples in the last 30 seconds brought the lead above 20 points for the first time. A 7-2 response came early in the fourth and was sparked by sophomore forward Lily Perkins' three-point play. Then eight unanswered points cut the difference down to 12 points at 69-57 with still over five minutes left. In the end, Point Loma offered its own 9-2 run and the momentum remained with the visitors to an 83-65 final score.

ART U starts its PacWest campaign 0-1 and falls to 1-3 overall. Four Urban Knights scored in double figures led by Cates' 18 points and four assists. Stuart and Medina each had 14 points apiece and combined for 16 rebounds while Medina added three steals plus two blocks. Perkins scored 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

Thursday saw Point Loma record its first win of the season, pushing its record to 1-5 overall and 1-0 to start conference play. Sydney Peterson finished with 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds, but took 26 of the team's 83 total shots from the field. Carol Schroeder delivered a double-double off the bench with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Academy of Art will play its second PacWest game of the season this Saturday, Dec. 1 with Concordia back inside Kezar Pavilion at 1 p.m.

"We look forward to these next competitions which will come quickly," said Williams. "Concordia is going to be equally as challenging in their own ways. Every possession matters when it comes to games like these. Conference is a great opportunity to learn and we need to take advantage of being on our home court."