Box Score

San Francisco, Calif. -- The Academy of Art University women's basketball team won its sixth game of the season last night against a very hungry William Jessup team. The Urban Knights, who took on the Warriors in their first game of the season, came out last night looking to prove to themselves and their fans that they have mad much improvements over the course of the season since that first game on November 13. The first meeting between the two teams did not pan out in the Urban Knights favor as they saw the Warriors hold on, in what was a back and forth battle, to secure the 66-58 lead and the victory. The Urban Knights completed their challenge last night by walking away with a 69-66 victory, but the game did not come without a few scares along the way. William Jessup, who never led the whole game, made it an interesting contest within the final five minutes of play.

The first half saw the Urban Knights jump up out to an early 22-7 lead and never look back. With AAU shooting 45% from the field and creating 15 turnovers in the first half alone it made it very difficult for William Jessup to get within striking distance of the Urban Knights. AAU went into halftime up by 10, 38-28. The Urban Knights started the second half on fire, ballooning their lead back to 20 and keeping it there until the final 10 minutes of the game. After a timeout call by the Warriors just under the nine-minute mark, the Urban Knights committed two back-to-back turnovers which translated into two Warrior three-point baskets. With the lead knocked down to 11, William Jessup set up a full court press which proved to be a difficult task for the Urban Knights to break. The Urban Knights turned the ball over three more times and allow the hosts to tie the game at 64-64. Freshman Lorraine Etchell secured the game for the Urban Knights, breaking the press and taking it coast-to-coast to score the layup that gave the Urban Knights a two-point lead. On the next play, Etchell knocking down a big three-point basket to give the Urban Knights a 69-64 lead. William Jessup scored the final two points of the game with 45 seconds on the clock.  After a crucial turnover by senior guard Ali Tyson-Taufoou the Warriors had 15 seconds left on the clock and an opportunity to tie the game, but an off the mark three-point attempt by Rebekah Calvert secured the victory for AAU.

Sondra Stilwell and Lorraine Etchell led the way for the Urban Knights, both finishing with 19 points. Stilwell also added four assists and one steal, while Etchell dished out three assists and blocked two shots. Levalasi Key chipped in with 16 points and 11 rebounds, achieving her seventh double-double of the season. Tyson-Taufoou nabbed 11 rebounds and added seven points, three blocked shots, three assists, and one steal.

William Jessup's Calvert led all scorers on the night, finishing with 26 points and seven assists. Also helping out the Warriors was Rachelle Russell, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Urban Knights play their final game of the season Thursday, February 19, when they take on Seattle University for their second and final meeting. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.