Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (3-4, 1-2 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (4-6, 1-3 PWC)
Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #9
ART U Urban Knights (3-4, 1-2 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (9-3, 3-3 PWC)
Thursday, January 2, 2020 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #10
ART U Urban Knights (3-4, 1-2 PWC) vs. Concordia Eagles (5-3, 3-0 PWC)
Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #11
ART U Urban Knights (3-4, 1-2 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (0-9, 0-5 PWC)
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

LOCAL STRETCH PITS ART U AGAINST DU, APU, CUI, HNU
Riding a Pacific West Conference victory over Notre Dame de Namur into the holiday break, Academy of Art women's basketball steps back onto the court once more in 2019 to host Dominican this Tuesday. Azusa Pacific and Concordia (Calif.) then ascend from Southern California to close out the four-part homestand before ART U makes a short trip across the bay to face Holy Names all within a week span.

OPENING TIP
The Urban Knights' third home game of the year comes this Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. against Dominican. The start of 2020 then brings Azusa Pacific to Kezar Pavilion for a 1 p.m. matchup on Thursday, Jan. 2 followed by Concordia (Calif.) also at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4 once again inside Academy of Art's home gym. The week concludes in Oakland with ART U going up against Holy Names inside Tobin Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Third in the PacWest in steals per game (9.86) as they have been for much of the season, the Urban Knights have remained strong in that category with two players among the conference's top 12. Junior guard Pam Wilmore ranks third with 2.1 steals per game, graduate student guard Tayler Bennett is tied for sixth with 2.0 thefts per contest, and junior guard/forward Lily Perkins sits 12th (1.7). With five or more assists in over half of her games played, Wilmore is currently second in the PacWest at 4.9 assists per game while adding 11.4 points per game (20th in PacWest). Meanwhile, Bennett paces the squad in scoring at 13.1 points per game (15 th in PacWest), but the biggest contributor to ART U's most recent win was senior guard Josselyn Morris who knocked down six 3-pointers as part of a season-high 20 points. Also in that victory, forward Aari'yanna Sanders posted her first collegiate double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) en route to earning PacWest Freshman of the Week.

PENGUIN PERSPECTIVE
Currently right behind ART U in the PacWest standings, Dominican 4-6 record saw them win three games early versus Chico State, SF State, and Cal State Monterey Bay, but a 1-5 stretch since then has included just one win over Chaminade. The Penguins' Jerusha Paine leads the conference with a 21.8 points per game scoring average that ranks ninth in NCAA Division II and adds the PacWest's top rebounding average (10.5 boards per game) good for 25th in NCAA DII. In a historical matchup that has favored Academy of Art 16-5 all-time, the teams have traded sweeping the season series each of the past four years.

COUGAR BLOCK PARY
Azusa Pacific won its first seven games of the season including its first two PacWest matchups in Hawaii, but has since leveled out with a 2-3 record in its last five. The Cougars are an even 3-3 in conference play following their most recent 10-point loss at the hands of Point Loma. Outscoring opponents by the highest average in the PacWest (+17.0), APU has relied heavily upon its defense which puts up 7.09 blocks per game (second in NCAA DII) and allows opponents a .343 field goal percentage (both leading the PacWest). A big reason why Azusa Pacific has been so dominant defensively is because of NCAA DII's top shot-blocker Laura Pranger. Her 5.1 rejections per contest lead the country by a full block and she adds a team-high 14.7 points per game as well. The Cougars and Knights have met 11 times previously with APU on top 8-3.

EAGLE EXAMINATION
Though Concordia (Calif.) was 2-2 through the first month of the season, the Eagles have since gone 3-1 with no losses in PacWest play to date. CUI defeated UH Hilo, Fresno Pacific, and HNU all on the Eagles' own home floor and will now play 10 of their next 11 games on the road. Concordia is slated to face NDNU on Jan. 2 prior to ART U. Ranking at the top of the conference in terms of three-point field goal defense (.252), CUI has looked to Jasmine Rachal's 18.1 points per contest (second in PacWest) and Michaela Vanderklugt's 17.1 points per game (fifth in PacWest) on the offensive side of the ball. Though the Eagles swept the season series last year, Academy of Art remains ahead 4-2 all-time against Concordia.

HAWK TALK
Yet to claim a victory through its first nine games of the 2019-20 season, Holy Names has fallen to opponents by an average of 33.0 points per contest. The Hawks are set to open 2020 by hosting both Dominican (Jan. 4) and ART U before a five-part road swing. HNU is led by Gernijah Martin's 10.9 points per game which come with 6.1 rebounds per contest. Undefeated against Holy Names in the past two seasons, the Knights are 11-4 all-time versus the Hawks.

ART U DEFENSE ALLOWS FEWEST POINTS SINCE 2017 IN 66-42 WIN
After senior guard Josselyn Morris knocked down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions at the end of the first quarter and to start the second, Academy of Art women's basketball relied on tough defense for a 66-42 Pacific West Conference victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 21 inside Kezar Pavilion. On the offensive side, Morris finished with a season-high 20 points (including six triples) and freshman forward Aari'yanna Sanders collected the first double-double of her collegiate career (12 points, 11 rebounds) while the 42 points were the fewest allowed by an ART U opponent since 2017 and the fourth-fewest in program history.

LOOKING AHEAD
After facing Holy Names, ART U takes its first of two regular season trips down to Southern California where it will challenge Biola (Jan. 11) and Point Loma (Jan. 13) for the first time before returning to the Bay Area for a road matchup with Dominican (Jan. 17) and a Jan. 19 pairing with Hawaii Pacific.