Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (9-6, 6-2 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (5-6, 2-4 PacWest)
Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #17
ART U Urban Knights (9-6, 6-2 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (1-9, 0-6 PacWest)
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 5 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. – CU Arena
Live Stats & Live Video

FIRST MEETING WITH SUNBIRDS, CHAMINADE REMATCH ON TAP
Currently third in the Pacific West Conference standings as one of just two teams with six conference wins thus far, Academy of Art women's basketball returns from its Hawaii road trip to host Fresno Pacific then face Chaminade once more in a neutral site matchup down in Southern California.

TIP-OFF
ART U is slated to host the Sunbirds for its final home game of the month this Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2:30 p.m. inside Holy Names' Tobin Gymnasium in Oakland. An early start to Academy of Art's Southern California road swing starts with the Knights serving as the designated "home team" in a neutral site game against Chaminade to be played inside Concordia's CU Arena in Irvine. 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
The PacWest leader in scoring defense by nearly a full point, Academy of Art is holding its opponents to just 58.9 points per game in addition to ranking first in rebounds (44.5), offensive rebounds (17.9), steals (12.07), and blocks (6.0) per game and rising to second in turnover margin (3.53). Among NCAA Division II programs, ART U is third in blocks, seventh in offensive rebounds, 14th in rebounds, and 24th in steals per game.

The current PacWest Player of the Week, junior guard Chanel Stuart is just two games removed from a historic performance where she broke the program scoring and 3-pointers made records with 42 points including 10 triples versus Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 15. She returns from Hawaii as the conference leader in steals per game (2.3) in addition to ranking sixth in three-point field goals made per game (2.5) and 12th in scoring (12.2 points per game). The Elk Grove, Calif. native has also broken the top 10 in several ART U career categories including fourth in 3-pointers made (98), eighth in steals (112), and ninth in both points (660) and rebounds (367).

A two-time PacWest Defender of the Week thus far, freshman forward/center Alisha Wilson has moved back to the top of the conference with 1.9 blocks and 10.6 rebounds per game with 4.6 of the latter coming on the offensive glass. She ranks ninth in the country in offensive rebounds, 17th in rebounds, and 36th in blocks per game with six double-doubles to date after a pair on the islands.

Both junior guard Lauryn Manns (8.5) and freshman guard Brooke Rodgers (8.2) are averaging over 8.0 points per game and both are among the five Urban Knights who rank in the PacWest's top 20 at 1.4 and 1.9 steals per contest respectively. Freshman guard Alyssa Munn, who is 11th in that category (1.6), adds the sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and is eighth in assist per game (3.1). Freshman forward/center Christy Ojide recorded six blocks in Hawaii and now ranks fourth in the conference at 1.1 blocks per contest in addition to sitting 14th in rebounds per game (5.5).

Through eight games played, graduate student guard Joy Krupa put up 11.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.9 steals per game (sixth in PacWest). She added a .451 field goal percentage with four double-doubles.

HERE COMES THE SUN
Wins in its first three games of the season had Fresno Pacific riding high going into PacWest play, but losses to Biola, Azusa Pacific, and Dominican flipped the script a bit. Able to compete in three games thus far in January, the Sunbirds' wins over Holy Names and Concordia sandwiched another loss to APU, bringing FPU's conference record to 2-4. Fresno Pacific is led by Rachel Berry's 10.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game which are all among the top 25 in the PacWest. A win for Academy of Art would even its historical matchup with FPU as the latter leads 9-8.

SWORDPLAY ROUND TWO
Following its 70-59 loss to ART U's hand most recently on Jan. 17, Chaminade is scheduled to play a pair of PacWest opponents in Southern California prior to rematching with the Knights. Biola is up first on Jan. 22 and holds a 65-53 victory over the Silverswords from Jan. 8 while No. 6 Azusa Pacific follows on Jan. 24. CUH continues to be led by Dallas Martinez who slightly elevated her scoring average to 10.9 points per game with 13 points versus Academy of Art. The updated all-time series between ART U and Chaminade favors the Knights 19-3.

INSPIRED DEFENSE LEADS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO 70-59 TRIUMPH
Embracing its opportunity to compete on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Academy of Art women's basketball scored 19 points off 26 turnovers and never trailed on its way to a 70-59 PacWest victory over Chaminade. Four Urban Knights scored in double figures, seven recorded at least one steal, and 20 offensive rebounds helped the team produce 18 second chance points inside McCabe Gym as ART U completed its Hawaii roadtrip with two consecutive wins.

LOOKING AHEAD
Academy of Art will remain in Southern California following its rematch with Chaminade to take on Biola (Jan. 27) and Azusa Pacific (Jan. 29) in January's final PacWest contests.