Game #18
ART U Urban Knights (11-6, 7-2 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (2-15, 1-6 PWC)
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 5:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
Twitter Updates

Game #19
ART U Urban Knights (11-6, 7-2 PWC) vs. Notre Dame de Namur Argos (4-12, 2-6 PWC)
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Belmont, CA – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats
Twitter Updates

ACADEMY OF ART IN SEARCH OF EIGHTH & NINTH CONFERENCE WINS
The Urban Knights have now done what no team before them has ever done: Win six consecutive games in a single season. Currently holding a second place ranking in the Pacific West Conference standings, ART U has games against two local rivals on the horizon. Academy of Art University will first look to finish strong on their homestand when Dominican comes to town on Monday and then meet Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA. These games will be the first meetings of the year between respective opponents.

OPENING TIP
Completing a three-game midseason homestand, the Knights take on Dominican this Monday, Jan. 30. That game will take place at Kezar Pavilion and is scheduled to tipoff at 5:00 PM. ART U then heads to Walter Gleason Gym to battle Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday, Feb. 2 in a 5:30 PM tip. Live Stats, Live Audio, and Twitter updates will be available for these games (see above). Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

CRUNCHING THE CAPTAINS' NUMBERS
Few have been as consistent as sophomore forward Alisa Griggs. The Milwaukie, OR native followed up her PacWest Conference Player of the Week honor by being selected to the PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll for the fifth time this season. She is currently the sixth highest scorer in the conference and still ART U's leader both in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Senior guard Devin London, who has returned to the top of the PacWest steals leaders (2.6 spg) and she is currently tied with teammate Ariel Dale. London continues to facilitate the offense, having dealt out eight assists in her past two games while averaging 10 ppg. Senior guard Lorraine Etchell, who is still building upon her program record of career points (787 currently), is on the verge of assuming sole possession of a second place ranking in several other career categories. She needs one more steal (two for 100), four blocks, and 17 assists to move on up.

KNIGHT WATCH
With ART U spreading around the offense and scoring over 65 points off turnovers in the previous two games, it's no wonder that the Urban Knights rank first in the PacWest in steals per game (12.2), third in assists per game (14.3), as well as fourth in both points per game (67.1) and scoring defense (64.8 ppg). Junior forward Ariel Dale, a PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll recipient, continues to thrive on both ends of the court after scoring a season-high 19 points against BYU-Hawaii (Jan. 21) and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds versus Chaminade (Jan. 23). She has now joined London as the conference's steals leader at 2.6 spg. Junior guard Nicol Biesek's 2.8 assists per game rank seventh in the PacWest and, after registering 17 blocks thus far in 2011-12, she needs just two more to set a new single-season program record. Also among the recent scoring leaders are junior guard Jordan Rogers and junior center Juliua Fraser who combined for 22 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over Chaminade.

DOMINATING DOMINICAN
In Year One, the Urban Knights' historic first victory as a program came against the Penguins. Since that date, the teams have met four more times with ART U always having the edge. This season has been tough for Dominican who opened its season with many of the same opponents as Academy of Art including Humboldt State, Cal State East Bay, and Alaska Anchorage. After enduring four losses to begin, DUC defeated Chico State 51-48 on Nov. 22, but then 10 consecutive defeats followed into the beginning of conference play. On Jan. 19, the Penguins topped Chaminade 58-53 for their first PacWest victory and most recently fell to BYU-Hawaii 78-71 on Jan. 23. Kala Valentine and Kimi Nakamura are at the forefront of Dominican's offense, averaging 10.4 and 7.0 points per game respectively. Valentine is also the team's steals leader (22) while Nakamura paces DUC in assists (43). The Penguins will actually play Notre Dame de Namur prior to meeting ART U with that contest scheduled for the evening of Jan. 28.

NOTES ON NOTRE DAME
The Argonauts of Notre Dame de Namur have battled for many of their wins here in the 2011-12 season. Against Holy Names on Nov 18, NDNU fended off a strong second half by the Hawks en route to a 69-60 victory then pulled off a Dec. 3 shocker by starting PacWest play with a 63-59 victory over Grand Canyon (ranked No. 9 at the time) via clutch free throws from Natellie Saia. Notre Dame de Namur defeated Cal State East Bay 65-63 on a last-second shot by Trisha Malaspina. Their fourth and most recent win was less of a struggle as NDNU trumped Chaminade 58-33 on Jan. 21. A new addition to the Argos' offense this season, Taylor Dewees leads the team with a 14.8 points per game average, but it is Pilar Mullins who has picked up the slack recently. Mullins is not only the top rebounder in the league (10.8 rpg), but she is adding 9.8 points per game in conference play. Mullins has led the team in rebounding an incredible 13 out of 16 games. The Urban Knights have gone 2-3 against NDNU since joining the PacWest. The Arogs will actually play Dominican prior to hosting ART U with that contest scheduled for the evening of Jan. 28.

THE STREAK CONTINUES, KNIGHTS WINNERS OF SIX STRAIGHT
Using the momentum it generated in Hawaii, ART U took care of business at home with victories over BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade this past week. First against the Seasiders, the Urban Knights played a dominant first half in which they outscored their opponents 42-23. Academy of Art would never trail in the contest as the second period was even more impressive featuring ART U runs of both 10-0 and 14-2. Four different Knights scored in double figures in the game with their bench executing to perfection, outscoring BYUH 41-10. The end result was a 92-51 win for Academy of Art. Chaminade was in town for its rematch two days later and while it was not such a huge margin of victory on this occasion, the Knights used nearly 50 percent shooting from the field to expand a 32-22 halftime lead into a 20-point victory. All five starters scored in double figures and Fraser added 11 points off the bench to complete the 73-52 triumph. During the win streak, ART U's average win margin has been 18.5 points, attesting to this team's true dominance of late.

LOOKING AHEAD
As the Urban Knights head out on the road for their next three games after this week, more challenges surely await them in the PacWest. ART U begins by traveling a short distance to Dominican (Feb. 7) before going out-of-state to face Dixie State (Feb. 11) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 13).