Box Score

San Francisco, CA – The historic season continues for 2011-12 Academy of Art University women's basketball. Monday night inside Kezar Pavilion against the visiting Chaminade Silverswords, the Urban Knights tasted victory for the sixth consecutive occasion. After an 8-0 run midway through the first half, ART U closed the deal by shooting over 48 percent from the field in the second en route to their 73-52 victory. For the first time this season, six Urban Knights scored in double figures led by sophomore forward Alisa Griggs' 14 points along with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds from junior forward Ariel Dale.

“I was glad to see another balanced scoring attack,” head coach LaNay Larson said. “We definitely missed a lot of point blank shots I would like to think we normally would make, but tried to counteract that with hitting the boards hard. I give a lot of credit to Chaminade because they played from start to finish and really made the game hard for us.”

Much like the previous contest in Honolulu, both teams were searching for an offensive rhythm early on. In the opening minutes, Griggs and junior guard Jordan Rogers were working in tandem to keep the Knights' step for step with the Silverswords. It wasn't until junior guard Nicol Biesek converted a layup at 9:32 that an ART U player other than Rogers and Griggs had scored. Chaminade was able to hang in thanks in large part to Nikki Tauau's eight points and eight rebounds in the opening period.

Midway through the half, Academy of Art unleashed an 8-0 run in which they lived at the free throw line. Junior center Juliua "Juju" Fraser started off going to the line at 7:18 and then Rogers headed there twice in a row. The ART U lead grew to nine, 24-15, with six straight free throws made and then Rogers drained a jumper for good measure off an assist from Dale. What was at one time a 10-point lead dropped to six after four quick by CUH, but the Knights responded with layups by Dale and senior guard Devin London to close out the first period.

At halftime, Griggs and Rogers were leading ART U having combined to score 19 of the teams' 32 points. After Academy of Art pushed its largest lead thus far (12) on four quick points by Griggs to start the second, Chaminade did not give in just yet. The visitors came back with a 7-0 burst and five of those off the hands of Kelly Costello. It looked as though CUH might retake the lead midway through the half, but a huge 3-pointer by Biesek fended off the possibility and Dale had a layup shortly thereafter to maintain the eight-point margin.

A hard-fought possession came minutes later where Griggs scored after ART U secured two offensive rebounds and that would incite a 21-3 surge by the Knights. It was Academy of Art University's run-and-gun game that came alive as London converted a pair of fastbreak layups then she later hit Fraser inside for an easy basket.

“I thought Juju had one of her best games of the season and gave us a huge boost off the bench,” Coach Larson said. “We talked with our bigs about being a presence and she definitely did that on both ends.”

Biesek was the beneficiary of a pass from Dale on the move and the Knights' largest lead of the game came when freshman guard Vianai Austin sprinted down for a layup after London stole the ball. Up by 24 points with 2:53 left (68-44), the game was all but won by ART U when the dust had settled. The home squad went on to take the 73-52 victory.

“Our defense the second half definitely picked up and, in the last six minutes, started to look like the team I saw last Saturday,” Coach Larson said. “We have to keep the intensity for 40 minutes as we move forward.”

The Knights' six-game win streak now has them at 11-6 overall, 7-2 in the PacWest. Monday night it was a complete team effort on both sides of the ball as six ART U players reached double figures in scoring. Griggs had 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals while Biesek added 12 points (2-of-3 3pt), five rebounds, and four assists.

Three Knights, London, Rogers, and Fraser, each scored 11 apiece, but contributed in other ways as well. London had six rebounds along with a game-high five steals. Rogers converted 7-of-8 free throws and pulled down three rebounds. Finally, Fraser had seven rebounds off the bench and notched three blocked shots. Last but certainly not least, Dale had her second double-double in the past three games with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Chaminade was led offensively by two players in Kelly Costello and Nikki Tauau. Costello went for 17 points including 3-of-6 from long range and 6-of-6 at the foul line. Tauau added 15 points and eight rebounds, but had seven of CUH's 27 turnovers which led to 25 ART U points. The Swords drop to 0-13 overall, 0-7 in conference action.

The third and final game of this mid-season homestand comes Monday, Jan. 30 when the Urban Knights take on Dominican for the first time this year. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM inside Kezar Pavilion.