OAKLAND, Calif. – Just two points separated Academy of Art women's basketball and Biola at halftime, but in the end, the Eagles walked out of Holy Names' Tobin Gymnasium with an 82-55 Pacific West Conference victory on Monday night. Fighting back with 17 second half points, junior guard
Brianna Cates exploded for a career-high 26 on the night, converting 9-of-11 from the foul line.
Cates was involved early, scoring ART U's second basket of the game for a 4-0 lead before Biola executed a 7-0 run to mark on of seven lead changes in the half. Minutes after junior forward
Ines Medina nailed a 3-pointer to halve the deficit, she scored a breakaway layup to eventually end the quarter with a single-digit margin, 15-14.
A Cates triple at the start of the second quarter gave the Urban Knights a lead, but it would exchange hands three more times before halftime. Neither team led by more than five points as a 3-pointer by junior guard Jocelyn Morris put the score at 28-23 ART U before a 9-1 response from the Eagles for their 32-30 edge at the break.
BU quickly turned a closely-contested game into a double-digit difference with a 15-4 run to open the third quarter. Cates served as the Knights' focal point on offense, scoring 11 of Academy of Art's 13 points in the third alone to answer multiple runs by the Eagles. A triple by the visitors soon grew the margin to 20 points (59-39) with two minutes to go and it went beyond in the fourth ultimately concluding with an 82-55 win for Biola.
ART U moves to 2-9 on the season and 1-7 in conference play. Cates' 26 points bettered her previous career-high of 23 set in the second game of the season and her nine free throws made were the most by an Urban Knight since
Jazzlynn Brewster made 13 against Fresno Pacific last year. Sophomore forward
Lily Perkins contributed nine points while Medina finished with seven points, six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Biola improves to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in the PacWest. Three Eagles scored in double figures led by Mikayla Greens' 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Urban Knights will complete their six-part homestand this Saturday, Jan. 12 against Fresno Pacific at 1 p.m.
