Game #13
ART U Urban Knights (7-5, 4-1 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (5-2, 2-1 PacWest)
Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 5 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT)
Hilo, Hawaii – Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #14
ART U Urban Knights (7-5, 4-1 PacWest) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sharks (4-7, 1-3 PacWest)
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. HT (6:30 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – The Shark Tank
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #15
ART U Urban Knights (7-5, 4-1 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (1-7, 0-4 PacWest)
Monday, January 17, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. HT (7:30 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – McCabe Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

VULCANS, SHARKS, SILVERSWORDS AWAIT KNIGHTS ON ISLANDS
Riding four consecutive Pacific West Conference victories into its first out-of-state roadtrip this season, Academy of Art women's basketball is set to meet the PacWest's three Hawaii schools, UH Hilo, Hawaii Pacific, and Chaminade, for the first time over the course of the next week.

TIP-OFF
The Urban Knights' first of three games in five days has them facing UH Hilo on Thursday, Jan. 13 inside Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium for a 5 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT) tip-off. Two days and one island later, ART U will be inside The Shark Tank in Honolulu for a 1 p.m. HT (3 p.m. PT) matchup with Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 15. Academy of Art concludes its trip versus Chaminade also in Honolulu on Monday, Jan. 17 inside McCabe Gymnasium. All times and venues are subject to change. 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
Coming off its fewest points allowed in a 67-41 win over Holy Names, Academy of Art continues to lead the PacWest in scoring defense (ART U opponents scoring just 58.3 points per game) in addition to pacing the conference in rebounds (44.1), offensive rebounds (18.4), and steals (12.25) per game and sitting just second in blocks per contest (6.17). Among NCAA Division II programs, ART U is third in blocks, seventh in offensive rebounds, 16th in rebounds, and 24th in steals per game.

The current PacWest Defender of the Week, junior guard Chanel Stuart has recorded three or more steals in seven straight games with four or more in her last four times out to now lead the conference with 2.6 steals per contest. She has also taken over as the team's second-highest scorer at 9.4 points per game after breaking out for a season-high 16 points along with five rebounds, four steals, three assists, and three blocks against Point Loma on Jan. 6.

A two-time PacWest Defender of the Week in her own right, freshman forward/center Alisha Wilson finds herself barely second in the conference with 2.0 blocks and 10.8 rebounds per game with 4.5 of the latter coming on the offensive glass. She ranks 11th in the country in offensive rebounds, 17th in rebounds, and 27th in blocks per game with four double-doubles to date.

Through eight games played, graduate student guard Joy Krupa put up 11.3 points (18th in PacWest), 8.8 rebounds (fifth in PacWest), 2.4 assists (21st in PacWest), 2.1 blocks (first in PacWest), and 1.9 steals per game (sixth in PacWest). She also sits seventh in the conference in field goal percentage (.451) and had four double-doubles.

Back of Krupa and Stuart, a trio of Urban Knights are averaging 8.0 or more points including junior guard Lauryn Manns (8.8), freshman guard Brooke Rodgers (8.4), and freshman guard Alyssa Munn (8.0). However, it is redshirt freshman Kaila Murrell and freshman forward/center Christy Ojide who have emerged in 2022 with the former averaging 12.5 points (including 3.5 3-pointers made per game) and the latter posting 13.0 points (as well as 12.5 rebounds) per contest in the last two games. Rodgers is tied for seventh in the conference at 1.8 steals per game, Ojide is sixth in terms of blocks per contest (0.9), and Munn remains among the top 10 in assists per game (2.8).

A HILO HELLO
UH Hilo highlighted its non-conference portion with a 76-73 win over No. 5 Alaska Anchorage, the Vulcans' most recent contest on Dec. 19, and has otherwise gone 2-1 in PacWest play. Following a 70-55 loss to Concordia, UH Hilo defeated Point Loma and Hawaii Pacific each by double digits, but the Vulcans' Jan. 13 matchup with ART U will be their first in 25 days. For a UH Hilo team that leads the PacWest in three-point percentage (.417), Mandi Kawaha's 18.9 points per game rank third and Sara Shimizu's 13.3 points per contest (which come with a PacWest-best .439 three-point percentage) are 10th. Nikki Miller paces the conference at 11.6 rebounds per game (13th in NCAA DII). The Knights are up 9-8 in the historical matchup with the Vulcans.

INSIDE THE SHARK TANK
Despite being picked to finish second in the PacWest Coaches' Preseason Poll, Hawaii Pacific currently finds itself in the lower half of the conference standings at 1-3. The Sharks started the season 3-1 with wins over Western Oregon, Seattle Pacific, and Black Hills State, but have since gone 1-7  with a five-point win over Concordia their lone highlight. Following a three-week break from competition, HPU fell to Biola 72-65 most recently on Jan. 6 and is slated to host Dominican on Jan. 13 prior to the weekend contest with ART U. Tavia Rowell leads the Sharks offensively at 17.2 points per game (sixth in PacWest) while reigning D2CCA West Region Player of the Year and First Team All-American Amy Baum leads the conference at 6.8 assists per game (second in NCAA DII) and is sixth in rebounding (8.6 rebounds per contest). Hawaii Pacific leads the all-time matchup with Academy of Art 15-6.

TUNING THE CHAMINADE CHANNEL
A 66-59 win over Multnomah in the season-opener has since given way to seven consecutive losses for Chaminade with just one game, an 89-57 defeat at Dominican's hand, not in Honolulu. The Silverswords come off a 65-53 loss to Biola on Jan. 8 most recently and are slated to rematch the Penguins on Jan. 15 prior to hosting the Knights. In addition to leading the team offensively at 10.0 points per game, Dallas Martinez paces the PacWest in free throw percentage (.848) while Arianna Blowe checks in at third in the conference with 1.8 blocks per game. The two teams' matchup has historically favored Academy of Art 18-3 over Chaminade.

ART U DOMINATES HNU WITH SEASON'S FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED
Never trailing and holding a double-digit lead for the game's final 21 minutes, Academy of Art women's basketball held Holy Names to just 41 points on 28.6 percent shooting in a 67-41 victory inside the Hawks' Tobin Gymnasium on Jan. 8. Freshman forward/center Christy Ojide was 7-of-7 from the field with her second consecutive double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and redshirt freshman Kaila Murrell added a season-high 13 points (including three 3-pointers) as the Urban Knights secured their fourth consecutive Pacific West Conference win.

LOOKING AHEAD
Upon its return from Hawaii, Academy of Art will host Fresno Pacific on Jan. 22 then travel to Southern California once more the following week.