Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (4-11, 3-6 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (14-3, 7-2 PacWest)
Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 1 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Game #17
ART U Urban Knights (4-11, 3-6 PacWest) vs. Concordia Golden Eagles (7-8, 5-4 PacWest)
Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 5 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART CLOSES JANUARY WITH FIRST LOOK AT DUC THEN CUI REMATCH
Academy of Art women's basketball, back from three Pacific West Conference games in Hawaii, suits up twice more this month, remaining local to face Dominican across the San Francisco Bay this week and Concordia in the City by the Bay next week.

TIP-OFF
Competing in the Bay Area for the final two games of January, the Urban Knights first match up with Dominican this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. from the Conlan Center in San Rafael. Less than one week later, Academy of Art hosts Concordia inside Kezar Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. 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, who went 1-2 in its Hawaii road trip, returns to action this week, ranking third in the PacWest in both blocks (3.0) and steals per game (8.9). Sophomore guard Alba Rovira Ayuso has been on quite a roll offensively, averaging 17.4 points per game in her last seven contests to support a season average of 14.3 points per game that now has her second in the conference. She has knocked down three or more 3-pointers in over half of those previous seven games and has connected on at least one shot from deep in all but one of her 15 games played this season to elevate her to third in the conference at 1.8 triples made per game. Freshman guard Lucia Revenga is second on the team at 8.6 points per game and adds 2.4 steals per contest to hold the third spot in the PacWest while freshman guard Anna Fornells checks in at ninth (1.8).

With no fewer than six rebounds in each of her last nine games (double digits twice in that span), junior forward Yasmine Sifaoui has taken over the eighth position in the conference at 6.7 rebounds per game where she is just narrowly ahead of junior forward/center Christy Ojide whose 6.5 rebounds per contest tie her for ninth. The pair also shares the seventh spot in the conference at 0.9 blocks per game apiece, an average that has helped Ojide reach 70 rejections in her career (seven from breaking the ART U record).

Freshman guard Maddie Morrow has made a 3-pointer in all but two of her 15 games played, helping her hold the second spot in the PacWest at 1.9 triples made per contest. She comes off a hot final quarter against UH Hilo in which she knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in a four-minute span.

PENGUIN POINTERS
After starting the year by winning six of its first seven games, Dominican has sustained conference losses to only Azusa Pacific and Biola prior to the Penguins' current five-game win streak which included a sweep in Hawaii. DUC's 70.7 points per game rank second in the PacWest with much of that offense coming from long range where the Penguins are also second in the conference at a .335 three-point percentage. For a Dominican team that feeds off a +5.76 turnover margin (first in PacWest), Keyonee Neal paces the squad with 12.8 points per game (fourth in PacWest) and 1.1 blocks per game (fourth in PacWest) while Alaiyah San Juan provides 1.8 steals per contest (ninth in PacWest) as well as 1.6 triples made per game (fifth in PacWest). Though Dominican has had the upper hand lately, ART U still remains firmly in front 19-11 in the historical matchup.

GOLDEN EAGLES' FLIGHT PATH
Since defeating Academy of Art back on Dec. 18, Concordia has gone 3-2 with wins over UH Hilo, Chaminade, and Westmont along with losses to Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific, the latter whom CUI will rematch on Jan. 20 prior to facing the Knights. The Golden Eagles can be found second in the conference at 9.7 steals per game as well as fourth in assists per game (13.3) as Izzy Navarro is putting up 12.8 points per contest (fifth in PacWest) while Teagan Thurman adds 7.6 rebounds per game (second in PacWest). The victory for CUI earlier this season broke the tie in the all-time matchup with ART U, giving the Golden Eagles a 7-6 advantage.

VULCANS OUTLAST KNIGHTS AS HAWAII TRIP FINISHES IN HILO
Right with UH Hilo one quarter into the Jan. 15 Pacific West Conference matchup, Academy of Art women's basketball weathered a second quarter push by the Vulcans and eventually made it a two-possession game in the third, but the home team put together a second run that guided them to the 68-53 victory inside Vulcan Gymnasium.

LOOKING AHEAD
The month of February brings another road trip for ART U as the Urban Knights travel south to Azusa Pacific (Feb. 1) and Point Loma (Feb. 3) next.