Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams)

San Francisco, CA – Academy of Art University women's basketball finished off its historic season with a 86-53 victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday inside Kezar Pavilion. By way of a 31-5 points off turnovers edge, ART U never trailed in the contest and secured a convincing win against their Bay Area rival. Five Urban Knights scored in double figures led by freshman guard Vianai Austin's 17 points. Senior guards Devin London and Lorraine Etchell, who were honored prior to the game, both had strong performances in their final contest in the black and red.

"I thought it was a great game for the seniors," head coach LaNay Larson said. "They started us off on the right track."

Following an emotional pre-game ceremony, the Knights went to work right away by jumping out to a 6-0 advantage on a triple by junior guard Jordan Rogers and then the first 3-pointer made in sophomore forward Alisa Griggs' career. As the Urban Knights made five of their first six shots from the field and began to work the ball inside, it was soon a 12-6 ART U lead less than five minutes in.

The margin grew shortly thereafter as it ended up being a 12-0 run by Academy of Art to push a 16-point advantage. Junior guard Nicol Biesek came alive during that stretch and scored five of the 12 unanswered. The Argonauts responded with a 10-4 push and repeatedly cut the difference down to 10 points, but the Knights started getting out and running Austin took one coast-to-coast and London artistically found Griggs on another fast break.

"We wanted to get out and run in transition, we aren't a halfcourt team," Coach Larson said. "I thought we did a good job of having all five kids running the floor hard and taking advantage of our athleticism. We were able to knock down some threes which always helps to open things up."

ART U had scored 52 points by the halftime break, two shy of the program record for a single half, and they got there thanks to a 12-2 surge to close the first period (6-of-8 from the field). That 24-point lead rose briefly in the second half as Academy of Art continued to earn layups, but NDNU fought back with a 7-1 run. The margin only dropped below 20 points once, however, and soon a 10-1 burst by the Knights had it back up to nearly 30. A layup by Etchell and five more points from Austin did push it over 30 in the final two minutes as ART U won going away 86-53.

Scoring a team-high 17 points, Austin showed why there will be great things to look forward to in the seasons to come Saturday afternoon. An efficient 5-of-5 at the foul line and 2-of-4 from distance, the freshman posted 10 of those in the second half alone while adding five rebounds and three steals. Austin was supported by Griggs' 16 points and eight rebounds as the youth stepped up to complement a pair of Academy of Art seniors in this final game of the year.

"The future is bright and I feel like we've laid the groundwork for the program I envisioned when I took the job," Coach Larson. "Alisa and Vianai proved they are some of the best young talent in the PacWest and next year we will have a senior class that is extremely talented and has huge expectations."

Each in her final game as an Urban Knight, London and Etchell both had memorable performances on their Senior Day. London nearly had a quadruple double at the end of the day with 10 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, and seven steals. She was a key reason why ART U dominated NDNU in the points off turnovers category. Etchell added nine points which included a 3-pointer which came off a pass from London in a senior-senior connection during the second half.

"Devin contributed across the board and her stat line was one of the best I've seen," Coach Larson said. "That shows what a great job she did of running the point. Raine gave us great energy and plays so hard on the defensive end. She really sets the tone there."

Solid contributions also came from the pair of junior transfers, Biesek and junior forward Ariel Dale, who have helped make this year's team so strong. Dale scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Biesek added 11 points with four steals and four rebounds.

The Argonauts' top performer was Pilar Mullins who had a double-double in the form of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Vore, NDNU's leading scorer of late, chipped in 11 points including a 9-of-9 day at the foul line. Notre Dame de Namur completes its season at 6-20 overall, 4-14 in the PacWest.

Academy of Art finishes 2011-12 sporting the best record in its four-year history at 16-10 overall and 12-6 in PacWest play.