Game #28
ART U Urban Knights (19-8, 12-5 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (5-20, 4-13 PWC)
Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 5:30 PM
San Rafael, CA – Conlan Recreation Center
Live Stats & Live Video

PAIRING WITH PENGUINS FINISHES OFF 2013 REGULAR SEASON
Coming into this Saturday's regular season finale, Academy of Art University Women's Basketball is on a roll. The Urban Knights have won five consecutive games and, with their spot clinched in the Pacific West Conference Tournament next week, will look to make it six in this rematch with Dominican.

OPENING TIP
Traveling across the bay for its final regular season contest, Acaademy of Art will meet Dominican this Saturday, Mar. 2 for a 5:30 tipoff inside Conlan Recreation Center. Live Stats and Live Video will be available for this game. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

ACADEMY OF ART STAYS RANKED IN REGION
ART U remained among the best in the NCAA Division II West Region in this week's second release of regional rankings. At 10th overall, the Urban Knights are in a tight battle with Alaska Anchorage and Hawaii Pacific after the Sea Warriors also knocked off Grand Canyon this past weekend. One final release will come out next Wednesday, Mar. 6.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: DOMINANT DEFENSE
Academy of Art University has served as the nation's top team in terms of turnover margin for the majority of the 2012-13 year and continues to maintain that title with a difference of 8.89 turnovers per game. Thus far, the Knights have forced 689 turnovers while only committing 449 themselves. As of Feb. 24, ART U is also #3 in the country in steals per game average (15.0 spg) and rose back up to 10th in scoring average (75.7 ppg). Adding to their top marks, Academy of Art is averaging 17.3 assists per game (9th in NCAA DII), 4.9 blocks per game (25thin NCAA DII), and a 1.05 assist-to-turnover ratio (19th in NCAA DII).

PLAYOFF PICTURE
ART U is currently holding the #3 spot among the top six teams who can qualify for the PacWest Conference Tournament and compete for a bid to the NCAA DII Tournament in March. The Knights' 12-5 conference record puts them ahead of Dixie State (11-6) and just behind Hawaii Pacific (13-4). A win on Saturday at Dominican would assure Academy of Art its place as #3 since HPU holds a tiebreaker (explained in link above). Dixie State is at Point Loma this Saturday where a win for the Red Storm combined with a Knights loss would put ART U into #4 overall. Regardless, Academy of Art will be in action on Thursday, Mar. 7, but the difference between #3 and #4 means facing #6 BYU-Hawaii (whom ART U defeated 85-80) or #5 UH Hilo (whom the Knights fell to 60-57 on a buzzer-beater).

KNIGHT WATCH
Once again the unquestioned top offensive team in the PacWest, Academy of Art currently averages 76.0 points per game in addition to its dominant turnover margin. The Urban Knights lead the conference in both assists (17.4 page) and steals (15.3 spg). A true testament to the offensive balance ART U has, not one Knight is  currently in the Top 10 in the PacWest in scoring. Senior Jordan Rogers paces the team at 13.5 ppg (11th in PWC) while senior Ariel Dale, who unloaded a career-high 21 points at Holy Names earlier this week, now averages 12.0 ppg. Dale sits atop the conference steals leaders (3.2 spg) while Rogers (76.2 % FT) is now joined by freshman Zoie Sheng (76.6 % FT) in the PacWest's Top 5 in free throw percentage. Sheng, one of the conference's best decision-makers just as a freshman, ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8). Senior Katy Wade has remained a dominant force inside for ART U all year, holding her position as the third-highest rebounder (9.9 rpg) and shot blocker (2.5 bpg).

PENGUINS: PART TWO
When Dominican and Academy of Art met for the first time this season last week, the Penguins hung with the Knights for the first half, but were eventually left behind 72-61. The result became just another defeat as part of Dominican's current 10-game losing streak. Prior to this final contest of the year for both teams, the Penguins fell 70-66 to Holy Names  (Feb. 23) while ART U pushed past the Hawks 86-72. Dominican is led by Kimi Nakamura's 9.2 points per game, however, it was Stephanie Carnes who went for a team-high 12 points last week. Salonika Quewon Owens, who is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, grabbed a game-high 15 boards in that one. The Knights' win made them a perfect 8-0 against Dominican heading into Saturday.

SPIRITED SECOND HALF POWERS ART U PAST HAWKS
Despite trailing by six at halftime, the Academy of Art University women's basketball team responded with one of its best halves of the season en route to an 86-72 victory over Holy Names this past Tuesday evening. The Urban Knights shot over 56 percent in the second period to take charge of the game inside Tobin Gym on Tuesday evening. ART U was led by double-doubles from both Dale (career-high 21 points, 12 rebounds) and junior Alisa Griggs (18 points, 10 rebounds).

LOOKING AHEAD
With the conclusion of the regular season this Saturday, Academy of Art will turn its focus to the the inaugural Pacific West Conference Tournament which takes place inside Azusa Pacific's Felix Event Center on Mar. 7-9.