SAN FRANCISCO -- Sporting a fresh look with a new coaching staff and many debuting talents, Academy of Art women's basketball spent the 2023-24 season laying an important foundation that featured a series sweep of a Pacific West Conference opponent, big wins over playoff-bound teams late in the year, and postseason distinction for an Urban Knight who shined on the well-balanced squad.

"I think being able to have a year where we felt like we were playing our best basketball at the end of the season, there is genuine excitement for what we're doing for the spring and upon our return," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "There was a lot of learning and growth for our staff and our team this season and I really appreciate everyone's patience and support. Overall, it was a very positive experience."

Officially beginning the season one state to the north, ART U battled Western Oregon on Nov. 10 and was able to pick up its first win after a big fourth quarter propelled the Knights past Saint Martin's on Nov. 11. Trailing by seven going into the fourth quarter, Academy of Art was led by sophomore guard Alba Rovira Ayuso as she poured in nine of her team-high 19 points in the final frame toward a 66-63 victory.

"The win over Saint Martin's was special for all the reasons; it was our first of the year, the program's first with our new staff, and my first as a head coach," Clark said. "It will always be an awesome memory for me and, sharing it with this group, they were so lovely and caring about celebrating it so it was fun we got to do that."

Academy of Art next faced Stanislaus State (Nov. 17) and Cal State East Bay (Nov. 18) as part of the Warrior Classic, ART U's second and final non-conference tournament. Knocking down a total of seven 3-pointers while averaging 11.0 points in the two contests, freshman guard Maddie Morrow emerged from the weekend as a member of the Warrior Classic All-Tournament Team.

The season's last two non-conference games pit then the Knights against both Sonoma State (Nov. 22) and Chico State (Nov. 25) on the road. While freshman guard Lucia Revenga paced Academy of Art in scoring in both contests, ART U had begun to show its versatility as eight of nine Knights scored on each occasion.

December brought the start of PacWest play and with it the first conference victory for Academy of Art who, after hosting Azusa Pacific on Dec. 7, blitzed Chaminade with a 21-11 first quarter and never looked back toward a 70-51 triumph on Dec. 10 that saw nine different Knights score at least five points apiece.

After wrapping up the calendar year in Southern California with a season-best 16 steals at Biola (Dec. 16) and a big 23-6 comeback run at Concordia (Dec. 18), ART U opened 2024 on a victorious note, besting Hawaii Pacific with a defensive masterpiece at home on Jan. 2. Academy of Art limited the Sharks to just seven points in each of the final two quarters as nearly every Knight shined with junior forward Yasmine Sifaoui recording a double-double, freshman guard Anna Fornells distributing a season-best seven assists, and Revenga going on to earn PacWest Defender of the Week for her seven steals with nearly a triple-double.

"We started such a young group this year," Clark said. "I think we had a freshman starting in probably one or two spots nearly every game and that speaks to the level of talent we have. We played a bit of a unique style and, from top to bottom, we were able to put together a roster that was really balanced."

Morrow's 21-point eruption could not counter hot shooting by Westmont in the team's next matchup on Jan. 5 before a trip to Hawaii for two rematches and one new opponent came thereafter. A big second quarter enabled HPU to top ART U on Jan. 11 and UH Hilo managed to separate slightly midway through its Jan. 15 pairing, but in between, Academy of Art earned a series sweep of Chaminade with a see-saw battle that ultimately went ART U's way 74-68 while featuring four Knights with double-digit point totals including Rovira Ayuso (24), Sifaoui (12), Fornells (10), and graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty (10) on Jan. 13.

"Sweeping a team in the conference is hard so to accomplish that this season was great," Clark said. "It was a good, solid foundational thing for us to know that's possible despite how hard it is to do."

Following Bay Area contests against Dominican on Jan. 20 and CUI on Jan. 25, Academy of Art began February in SoCal once again to do battle with No. 21 APU and PLNU. On their road trip, the Knights initially went toe-to-toe with the eventual undefeated PacWest Champions and NCAA West Regional host Cougars on Feb. 1 then enjoyed a record-breaking moment for junior forward/center Christy Ojide as she became the program's career blocks leader in San Diego on Feb. 3.

"We felt success off the court as well," Clark said. "We would take team walks in the middle of the day before away night games and just some of those memories and moments together were important to experience. It's fun having such a diverse team with many not from this country so traveling to different parts of California, Hawaii, and the northwest this last season was such a positive experience for the staff and our group."

Back home for what would be six of its final seven home games, ART U hosted Westmont on Feb. 8 then Fresno Pacific for ALS Awareness Day on Feb. 10 before trading strong quarters with UH Hilo on Feb. 17. Two of the Knights' best shooting performances came down the stretch as a pair of quarter field goal percentages over 57 percent with all nine players scoring highlighted Academy of Art's 79-71 win over Dominican first on Feb. 22.

Coming off one last trip to Fresno Pacific on Feb. 24, ART U celebrated its first Women's Empowerment Day by defeating Biola 69-62 on Feb. 29. Leading the second-half comeback, Rovira Ayuso poured in an efficient game-high 23 points while joining two others, Revenga and Sifaoui, in recording three steals apiece as the team achieved its highest field goal percentage of the season in the victory. The Urban Knights closed out their 2023-24 campaign by honoring the trio of Dougherty, graduate student guard Briana Baker-Bruce, and senior guard Ashana Hinds prior to outscoring PLNU in the first quarter of the Mar. 2 Senior Day matchup.

"You plan to play your best basketball of the season late so getting wins over teams who were making the postseason like Biola and Dominican was really important for our group," Clark said. "Understanding how close we are to being in the postseason even came in us playing pretty well in our last game against Point Loma who went to the West Regional. We laid down some foundational successes this year that we can reflect on."

In a season with important contributions all around, ART U relied upon the guidance and experience of Dougherty, Baker-Bruce, and Hinds who each played in every game.

"We were excited that our seniors committed to this project this year and what they meant to us," Clark said. "For our basketball program, they were great foundational pieces and we were fortunate to have them with an incredibly young team."

Along with the team's veterans, Rovira Ayuso led in many ways and, after finishing top three in the conference in scoring (13.9 points per game) and 3-pointers made per game (1.8), the Advertising major earned the honor of PacWest Newcomer of the Year.

"Alba being named PacWest Newcomer of the Year is something that I look at fondly because that's our colleagues in the conference saying what we are doing is on the come up," Clark said. "I definitely feel like having someone receive an individual award in year one is super important. That was like putting a bow on our season after our team came together late, played the way we did in the back half of conference, and had that noticeable growth."

With its young core set to return and eager to build upon their first season together, Academy of Art has a bright future to look forward to in the year ahead and beyond.

"It's an exciting time that we are in as we are able to bring back so many," Clark said. "We'll obviously miss some of our seniors' veteran leadership, but we'll be able to hit the ground running in the fall and have some comfort in knowing what each other can do as well as our tactical system. The newcomers we have coming into the program will certainly have some foundation and be able to help us continue the traditions that we started."