Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO – A season-high 17 steals and four Urban Knights scoring in double figures pushed Academy of Art Women's Basketball past Fresno Pacific 80-71 on Wednesday night inside Kezar Pavilion. Hitting their free throws down the stretch, ART U persevered through a late 12-0 run by their opponents and it was junior guard Sha'Nice Storey's team-high 23 points (including five 3-pointers) that led the way.
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The Knights and Sunbirds played a very even first five and a half minutes, tying one another four times in that span. Academy of Art was able to break away from an 8-8 deadlock with a pair of layups by junior guard
Jasmin Guinn and junior guard
Regina Camera's triple in her first long range attempt off the bench.
A two and a half minute scoring drought then set in for both sides and it was not until Storey knocked down her first 3-pointer of the night that ART U got back into its rhythm. Later, junior center
Caron Brown helped her squad go up by double digits with a layup and Camera followed that up with the team's next three baskets.
The Knights' 12-point advantage was whittled down, however, as Fresno Pacific went on a 15-7 run to close the half despite a triple by Storey with just under a minute left and a jumper by Guinn in the waning seconds. At halftime, ART U clutched a 36-32 lead.
The teams went back and forth in the early part of the second period and it was Storey who dropped a pair of 3-pointers in the first three minutes that kept the margin closer to double digits. Junior guard
Zoie Sheng scored four quick points following the media timeout and soon both Camera and senior guard
Molly O'Brien turned in transition layups to put the Knights up 58-46.
Storey's fifth 3-pointer then pushed ART U to its largest lead of the night, 67-50, with 6:15 left to play. A game that seemed to be strongly favoring Academy of Art suddenly shifted as the Sunbirds rattled off 12 unanswered. Now with 2:54 on the clock, FPU trailed only by five, but Sheng as well as redshirt senior guard
Madeline Martin hit back-to-back jumpers for a bit of a cushion.
As Fresno Pacific attempted to employ the foul strategy to claw their way into the margin, Sheng calmly tossed in a pair with 50 seconds left. Guinn made four more down the stretch and Martin added a pair late to prevent any hope of a FPU rally, effectively sealing the 80-71 win.
For Academy of Art, now 14-9 overall and 9-6 PacWest, Storey poured in a season-high 23 points with five 3-pointers and six rebounds while Guinn finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and two steals. Sheng posted 13 points including a 7-for-10 performance from the foul line. Camera was the fourth Knight to score in double figures, contributing 13 points and four steals off the bench.
Fresno Pacific took its 10th loss in its past 11 games and now sits at 3-17 overall, 3-12 in conference. Keairra White went off for a game-high 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the field.
Academy of Art heads across the bay for a PacWest rematch with Dominican on Monday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
