SAN FRANCISCO – On the heels of an emotional Senior Night pre-game ceremony, the trio of Academy of Art women's basketball graduate student guard Tayler Bennett, senior guard Josselyn Morris, and senior forward Ines Medina led the charge, each hitting 3-pointers in a fast-paced first quarter against Point Loma. Thursday's end result saw the Sea Lions capture an 83-74 Pacific West Conference victory, however, when the momentum shifted their way in the fourth inside Kezar Pavilion.

In a sign of things to come, the Urban Knights' first five shots were from beyond the three-point arc and three of those connected from the hands of sophomore guard Chanel Stuart, Morris, and Medina. PLNU came back with an 8-0 run that featured some of the visitors' own shots from distance, but in the final two minutes of the opening quarter, Bennett and her squad simply erupted, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers as part of an 11-2 surge to end on top 23-22.

Two more triples from Medina and Morris started the second, extending the run 17-2 before junior forward Sankia Braxton followed up with six straight points off the bench. That boost gave Academy of Art its largest lead at 37-27, but Point Loma steadily whittled the margin down to 44-40 by halftime.

As the Sea Lions neared the Knights early in the third quarter, Morris and Bennett worked in tandem during a 10-2 run to preserve their team's lead. Morris' fifth 3-pointer of the contest fell with one minute and 40 seconds remaining in the frame for a 64-55 advantage, but a buzzer-beating triple capped PLNU's 7-1 finish as just three points separated the teams heading into the fourth.

The lead changed hands five times in the first half of the final quarter, but an untimely 10-0 run spanned the next five and a half minutes as the visitors gathered an 81-72 margin and went on to prevail 83-74 with no time left for a comeback.

Thursday's result puts ART U at 9-16 overall and 7-14 in PacWest play. Six 3-pointers helped give Morris a team-high 20 points while Bennett, who totaled five steals and four assists, added 15 points with a pair of triples made to put her now four away from breaking the program's single-season record (78). Braxton totaled a season-high 10 points, Medina's three 3-pointers made up her nine points, and Stuart stuffed the statsheet once again with nine points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
 

Guaranteed a spot in the PacWest Tournament, Point Loma rises to 17-10 on the year and 13-8 against conference opponents. Onjalise Carley-Hilliard finished with a game-high 27 points for the Sea Lions.

With one game left on the schedule, Academy of Art will have a chance to achieve double-digit wins for the first time since 2017 when the Urban Knights travel to Belmont for a 1 p.m. matchup with Notre Dame de Namur this Saturday, Feb. 29.