Box Score
Photo Gallery (images by Kenny Chacon)

San Francisco, CA – Despite scoring 50 first half points and holding a four-point lead at the break, ART U Women's Basketball ended up taking a 91-83 loss at the hands of Cal State East Bay in the finale of the PacWest/CCAA Challenge inside Kezar Pavilion on Sunday. Five Urban Knights scored in double figures led by Sha'Nice Storey's 17 points, but had a difficult time containing the Pioneers who shot over 57 percent from the field.

"I thought we played well offensively especially in the first half when we hit a lot of big threes, but we didn't take advantage of how well we were shooting by playing better defense," head coach LaNay Larson said. "I thought we struggled defensively and missed some key assignments. East Bay shot the ball really well and they're a great team. I look for them to do well in the CCAA as well as Humboldt. I told the East Bay coach to go out and win that conference because they have definitely the tools and veteran players to do that.  We're still trying to get to that level and are young and inexperienced, but we have to grow up quick. If we want to be a championship team, we have to lock down on defense."

In the early going, Academy of Art was cooking on all cylinders. Alisa Griggs made free throws to start then the tandem of Regina Camera and Zoie Sheng each hit 3-pointers and it was 9-2 less than two minutes in. Although Storey hit the first of her four threes quickly off the bench, it was a steady 14-3 run by the Pioneers that brought them not only back in, but ahead 16-12.

The lead fluctuated as Sheng and Jasmin Guinn continued to keep the ART U offense hot though an 8-2 push that featured four layups by CSUEB again put the visitors ahead. From down five, the Knights went up four, 32-28, on 12 points that Storey was all somehow involved in. She found Camera for a triple to start then Madeline Martin for a corner jumper before draining back-to-back threes herself.

East Bay's Sarah Finlay responded to the challenge with a triple of her own and soon the teams were once again tied 37-37 with just under five minutes left in the first half. A 9-4 run helped Academy of Art close out the period as D'Andree Galipeau drained a jumper and later Martin buried her first 3-pointer of the season. Martin then connected with fellow upperclassman Griggs for the layup to put ART U up 50-46 at halftime.

Following the break, CSUEB went right to work with Briana Terrance scoring six during their 11-3 run to start. A pair of Galipeau layups and a Sheng triple later, the teams were knotted 60-60 prior to the Pioneers' key run to pull away. A 7-0 burst highlighted by a Stephanie Lopez 3-pointer turned out to be the difference. Though Storey tossed in a trey on a Guinn offensive rebound by Guinn shortly thereafter, four points was as close as the Knights would get from then on.

The margin grew to as many as 11 with two minutes left despite Camera raining down another triple late. In the end, CSUEB finished off a perfect 2-0 weekend with a 91-83 victory that pushed ART U to 2-2 overall in 2013-14.

Academy of Art was led by Storey's 17 points that came on a 5-of-11 day from beyond the three-point arc along with four rebounds and three assists. Sheng, who was named to the PacWest/CCAA All-Tournament Team, added 15 points (3-of-5 3PT) and had eight assists with just a single turnover. Camera helped the Knights put in their second most 3-pointers in program history as she went 4-of-11 from long range for 14 points in addition to four rebounds and three assists.

With 10 points apiece, Galipeau (five rebounds) and Guinn (seven rebounds, six assists, zero turnovers) were also key contributors. Griggs finished with eight points and eight rebounds while Martin had seven points off the bench.

For the 2-3 Pioneers, Lopez paced the squad with 21 points (3-of-5 3PT) to go with five rebounds and four assists. Finlay, who also made the All-Tournament Team, missed just four of 18 shots on the weekend as she was 7-of-9 for 17 points with eight rebounds on Sunday. Terrance and Danielle Peacon went for 15 and 13 points respectively.

The 2013 PacWest/CCAA Challenge All-Tournament Team included Most Valuable Player Kersey Wilcox of Humboldt State along with the Jacks' Elle Anderson, Dominican's Salonika Quewon-Owens, Sheng, and Finlay.

ART U will next return to facing opposition from the GNAC with a pair of contests at Simon Fraser, the Knights' first ever trip outside the US border, on tap for Nov. 26-27.