BELMONT, Calif. – Academy of Art women's basketball found itself back of Fresno Pacific by seven points with under five minutes to play in regulation, but the Urban Knights soon used an 11-4 surge to force overtime where the Sunbirds grabbed an early lead and sealed the 72-63 Pacific West Conference win with free throws down the stretch. A pregame Senior Night ceremony to honor senior guard Lauryn Manns and Joy Krupa gave way to big performances from the future of the program as sophomore forward/center Alisha Wilson, junior guard Ashana Hinds, and freshman guard Madison Johnson combined for over 50 points in the final contest inside Walter Gleason Gym.

A three-point contest to start, both sides connected from deep as Hinds and Johnson each made their first shot attempts before five quick points from Johnson and freshman guard Kyla Wandick gave ART U an 11-8 lead. FPU, however, ended the opening quarter on an 8-1 run which was extended in the second to give the visitors a 24-16 advantage.

That margin was decisively narrowed when sophomore forward/center Christy Ojide's jumper sparked 11 unanswered points with Wilson, Manns, and Hinds all partaking the comeback to give Academy of Art a 31-28 lead. That difference was erased some 26 seconds later when Fresno Pacific's fifth triple of the half retied things at 31-31 going to the intermission.

The first three made baskets by the Sunbirds to start the second half were all 3-pointers as FPU grew its advantage to double digits. Scores in the paint by Wilson and from distance by Johnson kept the Knights within striking distance, trailing by six heading to the fourth quarter.

Capping what became an 8-0 push connecting the third and fourth, Hinds' jumper cut the deficit to a single point yet FPU responded with six unanswered to press the issue. Nine of the next 11 points belonged to Academy of Art as four different Knights scored with Manns fastbreak layup fittingly tying the game at 56-56. A follow-up to a miss by Fresno Pacific was immediately answered by Wilson's jumper and, despite chances to win on both sides, the score remained 58-58 moving to overtime.

Much like the beginning of regulation, 3-pointers were exchanged in the first minute of the extra period, but the Sunbirds proceeded to lock in defensively for an 11-0 run including seven perfect trips to the foul line. When the final buzzer sounded, FPU emerged with the 72-63 victory.

Academy of Art, now 7-17 overall and 7-12 in PacWest play, had three Knights score in double figures led by Wilson's 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting. A total of 15 rebounds made it three consecutive double-doubles for the Communications & Media Technologies major, tying her with Krystal Forthan for the most in an ART U single season at 17 while Wilson's six steals marked her second time with that many thefts in consecutive games as well as her seventh time with four or more. Hinds added 17 points including a pair of 3-pointers while Johnson knocked down four from deep as part of her 15 points plus two steals. Wandick dished out four assists and Ojide came off the bench to add eight rebounds with two blocks.

Fresno Pacific pulls even at 13-13 overall with the victory while the Sunbirds' conference record moves to 8-11. Felicia Dourva finished with 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds while Julie Ramirez provided 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench.

The Urban Knights will close out their 2022-23 campaign this Saturday, Feb. 25 with a 1 p.m. tip-off at Dominican in San Rafael.