SAN FRANCISCO – Back home to open a three-part Pacific West Conference homestand, Academy of Art women's basketball started by shooting over 64 percent from the floor in the first quarter, but despite 11 different Urban Knight scoring in the contest, Dominican had the upper hand and captured a 64-50 victory.

Back-to-back buckets by senior forward Yasmine Sifaoui and junior guard Alba Rovira Ayuso put ART U ahead initially, but five ties ensued in the first quarter as both sides oscillated back and forth. A layup and 3-pointer from sophomore guard Maddie Morrow helped achieve the 20-20 deadlock before free throws gave the Penguins a slight margin heading to the second.

"Our start was a good carryover from how we have competed all week in practice," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "We will have to regroup tomorrow and approach the game this weekend with intention to all details, so we can play at the level we know we are capable of competing."

Consistently cutting the difference to a single point including on a layup by sophomore guard Lucia Revenga at 30-29, the Knights faced DU's 6-0 run to end the half up 36-29. That swing ended up becoming 20-2 bridging the second and third quarters as Academy of Art returned to striking distance thanks to graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty's triple along with layups from freshman guard Violet Stutz and senior forward/center Christy Ojide Boiko in the final minutes before the fourth.

The visitors' 11-2 burst in the first four minutes of the final frame proved to be enough as a 10-3 game-ending run by ART U could cut the Penguins' winning margin only to 64-50.

Now 10-11 overall and 3-10 in PacWest play, Academy of Art had 11 different players put points on the board led by nine apiece from Rovira Ayuso and Morrow. Sifaoui provided eight points, six rebounds, and three blocks as well. The collective effort marked the Knights' 27th consecutive game with at least seven players scoring in the contest and was their seventh time with at least 10 members of the team in the scoring column.

"Everyone on this team is a threat offensively," Morrow said. "The more we set each other up for success to our specific strengths, the more success we have as a whole. Unfortunately, tonight we fell short of securing the ball too many times after great team defensive possessions. When we get this right consistently alongside our versatility on offense, we become a very hard to play."

Dominican rises to 16-9 on the year and 10-4 in conference matchups after four Penguins scored in double figures led by Taylor Linzie's 15-point, 19-rebound double-double.

ART U will next celebrate its second annual Women's Empowerment Day this Saturday, Feb. 8 with a 1 p.m. rematch hosting Menlo at Kezar Pavilion.