SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – After building up as much as a 14-point lead in the first half, ART U women's basketball was tested by Dominican Saturday evening inside the Conlan Recreation Center. Despite a late Penguins run, the Urban Knights pushed back with their own 10-0 surge then converted their free throws down the stretch for a 94-91 victory. Senior guard
Zoie Sheng went for a season-high 27 points and knocked down two jumpers in the final five minutes as Academy of Art made its decisive run.
"I thought we did a good job of fighting through some foul trouble and had a lot of people step up," said head coach
LaNay Larson. "We are so balanced that it's nice to see different people step up each game on the offensive end. Defensively, we need to play better this Tuesday, but the girls know that and we need to bounce back with some more consistency."
ART U rattled off six straight points to start the game with senior guard
Regina Camera active on both ends of the court. Sheng would then step in to score seven consecutive points, gaining her squad a 14-7 advantage. Not to be outdone on its home court, Dominican came right back and cut the deficit to one point before the Knights 15-6 run to end the first quarter. Junior forward
D'Andree Galipeau scored her second consecutive layup with 16 seconds left to raise Academy of Art to a new single-quarter scoring record, up 37-27 heading to the second quarter.
After layups by senior guard
Vianai Austin and senior center
Caron Brown kept the double-digit margin, a layup by Sheng midway through the second quarter gave ART U a 14-point lead at 49-35. However, the difference was suddenly just six points after the Penguins closed the half on a 12-4 run capped by Carly Holboke's 3-pointer.
The Academy of Art advantage stayed above six points until late in the third quarter when a three-point play by Allyssa Weatherd shorted the gap to just two points (67-65). A game-tying triply by Alyssa Lorenzo opened the fourth quarter and the teams would go on to deadlock three more times before a jumper by senior guard
Jasmin Guinn with five minutes and 36 seconds left sparked a final surge.
Guinn and Sheng worked in tandem as Academy of Art scored 10 unanswered points for an 88-79 lead and under three minutes left. Weatherd continued her career night with all of Dominican's next nine points. Both junior forward
Pre'Franz Dominick and Camera were sent to the foul line in the final minute, but converted free throws meant ART U would hold on to win 94-91.
Now just one victory away from tying the program's wins record, ART U is 22-6 overall and 17-1 in conference play. Sheng finished with the season-high 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field while Guinn added 20 points and four steals. Camera was as productive as ever, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Storey contributed nine points and Galipeau delivered eight points and nine rebounds.
Dominican takes its fourth straight loss, falling to 15-10 overall and 11-7 in conference play. Allyssa Weatherd posted a career-high 36 points (12-for-18 shooting from the field) with seven rebounds and four blocks in a complete 40 minutes.
ART U's next game will be one of its most highly anticipated this season. In a clash of PacWest regular season title contenders, the Urban Knights host No. 4 California Baptist on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. inside Kezar Pavilion.
