Box Score

St. George, UT – Academy of Art University women's basketball put its nine-game win streak on the line Saturday night against a Dixie State team looking for revenge. ART U had pulled out a dramatic victory over DSC earlier in January and, on this occasion, it was the Red Storm who prevailed 80-64 inside their own Burns Arena in the Pacific West Conference Game of the Week. Sophomore forward Alisa Griggs posted a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds in the contest.

"We can't have a cold shooting night on the road against a first place team like Dixie," head coach LaNay Larson said. "We had open looks, but we were short on all our shots. Alisa Griggs played great. She was unstoppable on the offensive end. She is a hard match up because she can hit from the outside, get to rim, or post on the block. She just keeps improving."

Although Dixie State opened the game on a 9-2 run, Griggs was able to help slow the Red Storm's early burst with ART U's first field goal. After junior forward Ariel Dale got into the paint for a basket, DSC responded with a brief 9-4 push to go ahead 22-10 midway through. Griggs continued to work hard on the interior and then scored seven consecutive points for the Knights.

Dixie State's Erica Hayes, however, would convert on three consecutive possessions and had 10 points in the first 13 minutes of play. The 17-point Red Storm lead would not last though as freshman guard Vianai Austin and junior guard Jordan Rogers each connected on 3-pointers to thrust the Urban Knights back into the ballgame.

ART U cut the Red Storm margin to nine on Griggs' free throws which finished off the 10-2 Academy of Art run. Dixie had hoped to enter the halftime locker room with a double-digit lead, but the Urban Knights closed out the half on an 8-2 surge in which senior guard Devin London nailed a fastbreak jumper after which Griggs and senior guard Lorraine Etchell converted their foul shots.

Griggs was aggressive against Becca Thomas, a key component of DSC's inside game, and forced Thomas' third foul to start the second half. Hayes, however, continued to wield the hot hand and back-to-back 3-pointers by Dixie State furthered a 15-5 push to open the second. Rogers then scored inside, but shortly thereafter a 7-0 Red Storm run increased the home team's advantage to 20.

"I thought we were aggressive on defense, but were unable to convert steals into points," Coach Larson said.

Heading into the late portion of the game, Academy of Art forced the issue with a 9-0 burst in which Etchell came alive. The Healdsburg, CA native scored seven of those points including five quick on back-to-back ART U possessions. Despite Griggs' repeated efforts late, Dixie used an 8-2 run to pull ahead once again by 16 and hold on for the 80-64 win.

Griggs, who had 15 points at halftime, finished with the career-high 26 points, surpassing her previous marks of 21 which she reached twice this season. Her performance Saturday night was also the most efficient scoring output of her career as she converted 8-of-10 shots while adding 10 free throws in 13 trips to the foul line. The 10 made free throws ties her for second in the Academy of Art record books for a single game. Griggs added three steals as well.

Rogers contributed nine points and seven rebounds while Etchell scored seven of her nine points in the second half. That tandem also combined for 11 rebounds and four steals. Dale played 32 minutes for ART U, amassing seven points, five steals, five rebounds, and four assists. London had six points and was one of three Urban Knights with three steals in the contest Academy of Art drops to 14-7 overall and 10-3 in PacWest action.

For the Red Storm, who move up to 11-2 in conference play and 16-5 overall, were led by three players who scored in double figures. Erica Hayes had the team-high of 18 points along with six rebounds while Sheila Adams added 16 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Becca Thomas was a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line, helping her to 15 points on the night.

The Urban Knights have one more stop before returning home for their final four games. ART U travels to Phoenix, AZ for a matchup with No. 16 Grand Canyon on Monday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM MT (3:30 PM PST).

"We need to bounce back because Grand Canyon has the nation's best defense," Coach Larson said.