SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Resiliently fighting back against an early deficit, Academy of Art women's basketball had Dominican's advantage down to just two possessions at the end of the third quarter, but shooting over 50 percent from the field could not prevent the Penguins' eventual 57-48 Pacific West Conference victory on Monday evening inside the Conlan Center.

The rematch began with the teams combining for just four field goals made in the first quarter as ART U held the Penguins to under 16 percent shooting from the field. What became a 21-6 start to the contest for Dominican was trimmed to an 11-point halftime margin after back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman guard Violet Stutz and junior guard Alba Rovira Ayuso ignited a 7-0 burst.

ART U had the difference in single digits after graduate student forward Claire Ricard put in five straight points then senior forward Yasmine Sifaoui nailed a triple during a subsequent 7-2 run to make the score 35-29. Sophomore guard Lucia Revenga and senior forward/center Christy Ojide Boiko both scored from the painted area in the final 50 seconds of the third quarter to bring their side to within five points, but an 18-1 response from the Penguins held off a further comeback en route to the 57-48 final.

"Headed into the third quarter, we collectively raised our level of communication and our hustle which allowed us to get consecutive buckets in transition as well as defensive stops," Ricard said. "Moving the ball inside out gave us lots of good looks and we were able to fight for more rebounds too."

The Urban Knights move to 10-14 on the season and 3-13 in conference play with the evening's result. Stutz finished with 10 points including two 3-pointers while Sifaoui added nine points and seven rebounds. Ricard delivered seven points in seven minutes off the bench, equaling the total from redshirt freshman guard Karereatua Williams and Ojide Boiko grabbed eight rebounds.

"Disappointed that we weren't able to continue our string of positive performances in the first two quarters," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "Our second half performance is one that showed what we are capable of and is what we need to sustain as we move into these games ahead."

DU rises to 19-9 overall and 13-4 versus PacWest opponents with Abigail Cooper scoring a game-high 14 points, Alaiyah San Juan collecting 10 points, six assists, six steals, and five rebounds, and Taylor Linzie amassing 14 rebounds.

ART U next prepares for its final two home games of the regular season which begin with Hawaii Pacific back inside Kezar Pavilion this Thursday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m.