Game #11
ART U Urban Knights (1-9, 1-4 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (1-12, 0-5 PacWest)
Friday, December 30, 2022 at 11 a.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #12
ART U Urban Knights (1-9, 1-4 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-7, 0-5 PacWest)
Monday, January 2, 2023 at 2 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – Special Events Center
Live Stats | Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART RESUMES PACWEST PLAY WITH NORCAL TOUR
Stepping back onto the court for its first game since Dec. 17, Academy of Art women's basketball finishes up the month of December at Holy Names before Pacific West Conference play takes ART U to Fresno Pacific to start the month of January.

TIP-OFF
The Urban Knights' final game of the calendar year will take place inside Tobin Gymnasium in Oakland, the home of Holy Names, at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 30. After the weekend, ART U tips off the new year against Fresno Pacific inside the Special Events Center on Monday, Jan. 2 in Fresno. 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
Academy of Art has notched nine or more steals in six contests, bringing the Knights to the PacWest's fourth-highest steals per game average (8.3) while double-digit free throws made totals in six contests has increased ART U's free throw percentage to .720 (fourth in PacWest).

Sophomore forward/center Alisha Wilson currently leads the Urban Knights in scoring at 12.6 points per game (11th in PacWest) on a .461 field goal percentage (fourth in PacWest). Pacing the conference with 9.7 rebounds per game, she has collected four double-doubles in her seven games played (18 in her career to sit nine behind the program leader) while also adding 2.1 steals per contest (seventh in PacWest). Ahead of her teammate at 2.3 steals per game (fourth in PacWest), sophomore guard Jadence Clifton has scored in double figures five times, contributing to an average of 10.5 points per game (18th in PacWest) along with 2.7 assists per game (11th in PacWest). After knocking down seven and five 3-pointers respectively in her last two games, freshman guard Madison Johnson has put herself in a tie for sixth in the conference in triples made per game (1.9). Sixth in the PacWest, sophomore forward/center Christy Ojide comes in with an average of 1.1 blocks per game, having rejected multiple shots in four of her 10 contests while adding 6.6 rebounds per game (12th in PacWest).

TALK THE HAWK
Following a win over Cal Maritime in the first week of the season, Holy Names has fallen in 10 straight games including losses to all four PacWest schools from Southern California plus Chaminade. The Hawks rank in the conference's bottom three in most statistical categories, but they do find themselves among the top four in steals per game (9.0) and three-point field goals made (66) thanks in large part to both Jazmine Soto (2.4) and Dylan Benitez (2.0) sitting inside the top four in steals per game while Jayden Benitez leads the way offensively with 10.9 points per game. After winning seven of the last eight meetings, ART U is 14-5 historically versus HNU.

SUNBIRDS OF A FEATHER
Fresno Pacific started its 2022-23 campaign strong, defeating Chico State, Sonoma State, UC Merced, and SF State for four wins in FPU's first give games, but has since dropped six straight including seven and five-point losses to Concordia and Point Loma respectively. The Sunbirds, who are set to face Dominican on Dec. 30 before hosting Academy of Art, remain in search of their first PacWest win of the season despite leading the conference in fewest opponent points allowed (59.7) and offensive rebounds per game (15.4). Maesyn Rix can be found second in the PacWest in rebounds per game (9.4) with 4.2 coming on the offensive end (second in PacWest) while Sara Lundqvist paces Fresno Pacific with 10.3 points per game. Recent success against FPU has given the Knights a slight 10-9 edge in the all-time series.

STRONG FIRST QUARTER HELPS NO. 18 APU PUSH PAST KNIGHTS
Facing an early deficit, Academy of Art women's basketball could not orchestrate a comeback against No. 18 Azusa Pacific, falling 88-53 inside Walter Gleason Gym on Dec. 17 despite numerous individual season-highs.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Urban Knights' lone regular season out-of-state roadtrip will be up next as ART U travels to Hawaii for its first look at Hawaii Pacific (Jan. 8), Chaminade (Jan. 10), and UH Hilo (Jan. 12) in 2023.