Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (5-1) vs. Notre Dame de Namur Argos (1-3)
Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Belmont, CA – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats | Live Audio

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OPENS CONFERENCE PLAY AT NDNU
Academy of Art University furthered its best start in program history (5-1), bouncing back from its first loss of the year in the Fairfield Inn Classic to defeat Central Washington last week after Thanksgiving. Currently the top offensive team in the Pacific West Conference (73.8 points per game), ART U now turns its attention to conference play with a matchup against Bay Area rival Notre Dame de Namur coming up this weekend.

OPENING TIP
Heading down the peninsula for their first PacWest Conference matchup, the Urban Knights will be in Belmont, CA and Walter Gleason Gym to take on Notre Dame de Namur this Saturday, Dec. 1 at 5:00 PM. Live Stats and Live Audio are scheduled to be available. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Undeniable evidence continues to reflect ART U's defense into offense philosophy this season. At 73.8 points per game, the Urban Knights lead the PacWest and, at the same time, rank in the top two in both blocks (5.3 bpg) and steals (12.7 spg) in the conference. Academy of Art is also first in turnover margin, forcing 171 miscues from opponents with a 9.17 tpg differential. A week removed from her PacWest Player of the Week honor and a Weekly Fantastic 15 recipient, senior Ariel Dale holds the team's highest scoring average at 14.2 points per game (8th in PacWest) in addition to 6.3 rebounds (14th in PWC), 5.3 assists (5th in PWC), and 3.0 steals per game (2nd in PWC). Continuing a senior trio in the scoring column, Jordan Rogers averages 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game to rank in the PacWest's top seven as a guard. Senior Katy Wade, on the recent PacWest Weekly Fantastic 15 with Dale, comes off an incredible performance against CWU in which she scored 18 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, registered five steals, and blocked a program-record six shots. In addition to putting up 10.5 points per contest, she is now in the top four in the conference in both rebounding (9.5 rpg) and blocked shots (2.7 bpg). Wade also now finds herself a mere 10 blocks from setting a new single-season ART U record.

ADORNED IN THE USA (WEEK 2)
For the second consecutive week, Academy of Art University was among the nation's top women's basketball teams recognized in the release of the Week 2 USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll as determined by the USA Sports board of coaches, 33 members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Urban Knights have now defeated two opponents from both the CCAA and GNAC as well as one from the MIAA to earn their repeat appearance.

TAMING NOTRE DAME
As part of its own Lady Argo Classic, Notre Dame de Namur fell to Cal State Monterey Bay 61-44 in their season opener before coming back for a 67-46 win over Pacific Union. NDNU then traveled to Montana for Montana State Billings' Tournament (Nov. 23-24) in which the Argos were defeated by Colorado State Pueblo 59-38 and the host Yellowjackets 80-44. Notre Dame de Namur was picked to finish 11th in the now 14-team PacWest Conference after going 4-14 in league play last year. NDNU has been led by four different players through four games thus far as Hillary Perry-Smith and Savannah Selby are tied for the highest scoring average at 6.3 points per game. Charnisha Bradley adds 6.3 rebounds per game for NDNU. The Knights hold a 4-2 edge in the historical rivalry with the Argos, a series ART U swept last year.

ART U COMES OUT OF FAIRFIELD INN CLASSIC AT 5-1
After facing its first deficit of the season over 170 minutes into 2012-13, ART U found itself in a dogfight with Fairfield Inn Classic tournament host Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 23. The Urban Knights came back from being down at halftime to up six midway through the second half thanks to 14 points off turnovers in that period. However, NNU responded by getting to the foul line and managed to escape with a 66-62 victory when a potentially game-tying 3-pointer by freshman Zoie Sheng did not fall.

The following evening against Central Washington, Academy of Art bounced back. Powered by Wade's historic effort inside on both ends of the court, the Knights once again fought back against a halftime deficit to eventually win convincingly via a 17-4 run in the final five minutes. A surge initiated by four points and two blocks by Wade was complemented by big second halves from Rogers and Dale to give ART U its 73-64 victory.

LOOKING AHEAD
For the remainder of December, ART U will play three non-conference games on the road, one at home, and one PacWest matchup at Kezar Pavilion as well. The first road-stop is at Cal State Monterey Bay, currently 2-0, on Wednesday, Dec. 5. The Knights then return for a pair in San Francisco beginning with new conference member Holy Names on Saturday, Dec. 8. Sign up for the FAN BUS and be sure to stay for the presentation of the PacWest Community Engagement Award to Academy of Art that afternoon.