BELMONT, Calif. – Of the eight Urban Knights who scored in Friday's Pacific West Conference rematch between Academy of Art women's basketball and Dominican, seven scored nine or more points as a fourth quarter push earned ART U the 76-71 victory. Contributing to a season-high 51 rebounds for Academy of Art was senior forward Megan Jefferson also finished with career-highs of 12 points and four steals along with 10 rebounds off the bench.

"Proud of the way we responded," said Head Coach Krystle Evans. "We were disappointed in our play on Tuesday, learned from it, and responded today. Dominican always competes; you can't take plays off and expect to beat them. Today we maintained a high level of intensity and we stayed true to our identity."

Neither side led by more than three points for the first six minutes of action until back-to-back buckets put the Penguins up 16-9. Starting with Jefferson's first points of the afternoon, Academy of Art responded with a 12-4 run to end the quarter with a 21-20 lead.

Dominican then spent the majority of the second quarter building back its lead to nine points, but much like the first, the final two minutes belonged to ART U. Junior guard Lauryn Manns, freshman guard Alyssa Munn, and junior guard Chanel Stuart each had baskets during what became an 8-0 surge to go into halftime behind by only one, 39-38.

A total of six ties ensued in the third quarter where play slowed considerably with numerous trips to the free throw line for both teams. The Penguins' two-point advantage at the end of the third quickly ballooned to double figures after their 10-2 start to the fourth, but back-to-back triples (one a four-point play) from redshirt sophomore guard Hailey McCoy reduced the margin almost as quickly as it had formed.

Going on a timely 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter helped ART U shift in front with a 68-65 lead on another conversion for Jefferson. Though they remained close, Dominican was never allowed the lead from that point on as another big transition score from McCoy and Munn free throws sealed the 76-71 triumph.

The Urban Knights rise to 2-4 on the year and in conference action. Manns' 14 points were a team-high and came with a full stat line of five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. Jefferson's 12 points surpassed her previous career-high by two, her four steals bettered her previous high by one, and her double-double with 10 rebounds was the first of the season. Munn contributed 11 points plus eight rebounds while Stuart came off the bench to score 10 points with seven rebounds. The trio of freshman guard Brooke Rodgers, redshirt freshman guard Kaila Murrell, and McCoy had nine points apiece.

"Going into this season, we were excited about our versatility and depth," Evans said. "We only have eight active players, however, everyone is an offensive threat. We've preached quality over quantity all year and the fact everyone scored is a reflection of that."

Now 1-5 both overall and in PacWest play, Dominican saw four of its starters play the full 40 minutes with Riley Friauf going for 21 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, but six turnovers as well. Brittney Cedeno finished three points and two assists shy of a triple-double.

The final scheduled game of the 2020-21 pits Academy of Art against Dominican inside Holy Names' Tobin Gymnasium with ART U serving as the road team. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the 2021-2022 season for us," Evans said. "We want use our experiences from our first six games to show how we have improved and display the competitive character of our team and what people can expect from us next year. We want to show some consistency to our identity. This year has been tough for every team, and family; we want to ensure that our family watching and ART U community watching has a team on the floor they can be proud of."