Box Score
San Francisco, CA --- The Urban Knights used a record setting night to defeat the Silverswords of Chaminade University, 74-35, Thursday night at Kezar Pavilion. The Urban Knights' defense, which is currently ranked sixth in the PacWest Conference, put in serious work tonight on their home court. ART U, who never trailed in the contest, kept the Silverswords to just nine points in the first half which is the fewest first half points allowed in program history. Previous program low (18) also came against Chaminade University on January 8th. The Urban Knights set another school record by holding the now, 1-17 (1-10 PWC) Silverswords to just 35 points over the entire game. The win bumps ART U to 8-14 overall and 6-7 in conference play.
“Tonight was great for our momentum into the last stretch of the season,” said Head Coach Lindsey Yamasaki. “We got rolling early and never let up. Jess, Nicole and Verity really got their offense going tonight which is a big key in our success. We won the rebounding battle and pushed the tempo - we will need to continue to do all three of those things in our upcoming games,” said Yamasaki.
The ART U victory tonight was a total team effort. Every Urban Knight played and contributed in the win. The Academy of Art women started the contest on a 5-0 run capped by a Nicole DeRosier 3-pointer. The game went scoreless over the next three minutes, until a Chaminade three-point bucket brought them to within two points. ART U answered with a mini 4-0 run of their own before the Silverswords hit a free-throw to give them their fourth point of the contest, 9-4.
The Urban Knights kept the Silverswords scoreless and increased their lead to 28, making the score 32-4, over a nine minute span. ART U closed the half on an 8-5 run to go into the locker room up 40-9. The Urban Knights held the Silverswords to a mere 7.7% shooting from the floor for the entire half, another season low. While the Urban Knights' Jessica Nolan and Nicole DeRosier combined for 30 of ART U's 40 first half points, finishing with 15 a piece.
The second half saw ART U extend their already sizable 31 point lead to as many as 44 points before the half retired. The Urban Knights used a 60.9% second half shooting percentage to claim the outright, 74-35, victory over Chaminade. ART U remains unbeaten by the Silverswords. The Knights forced a season high 29 Silversword turnovers and registered 14 steals. As a team, ART U added another season high in assists, finishing with 23.
The Silverswords had a tough night offensively, going just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc. Current leading scorer, Jamie Higa, finished with a team high 14 points. Natasha Kealoha chipped in with eight points. Kellene Costello finished with five points and a game high 10 rebounds.
For the Urban Knights, Jessica Nolan finished with a game high 21 points and 7 rebounds. Verity Peets knocked down 16 of her 18 points in the second period, going 6-7 from the field, and 4-6 from the free-throw line. The senior also added four rebounds and three steals. Nicole DeRosier added 17 points in the victory (6-of-11 fg, 3-of-6 3fg). Alisa Griggs contributed seven points and grabbed a career high nine rebounds. While Madeline Martin dished out a career high 11 assists. “Maddie was great running our offense; she had 11 assists that were mainly on the run in our primary break. Her composure is improving every game,” Yamasaki said.
“If we continue to push the ball and take care of it, and defend without fouling while owning the glass we will be tough to beat. It continues to be all about the basics with us and tonight we proved we're capable of doing it for 40 minutes,” added Yamasaki.
The Urban Knights return to Kezar Pavilion Saturday February 19th when they take on BYU-Hawaii for the final time this season. Tip off is set for 12:00 PM with the men's game set to follow right after at 2:00 PM.
