SAN FRANCISCO – In its second consecutive Pacific West Conference matchup decided in the final minutes, ART U women's basketball rallied in the fourth quarter against Fresno Pacific for a 74-72 victory. Academy of Art earned the win on free throws in the waning seconds after junior forward Helena Orts scored 10 of her career-high 32 points in the fourth period alone.

Baskets by senior guard Alana Simon helped the Urban Knights jump out to a 5-0 lead to start, but the Sunbirds would fight back to force a 15-15 tie after the first quarter. In the second, FPU built a seven-point lead, 29-22, on a pair of 3-pointers and would take a 31-25 advantage into halftime.

Freshman forward Elle Williams opened the third quarter with a layup that sparked a 7-2 run to reduce the Fresno Pacific lead to a single point. Though the visitors remained ahead by five thereafter, the Knights surged back with a 10-2 push that featured three layups by Orts. The final conversion put ART U up 51-48 and, moving into the fourth, the score was tied once more.

Offense came from junior guard Rodericka Ware to start the final quarter and the teams found themselves tied four times before a three-point play by Bree Alvarez gave FPU a 63-60 margin. Junior guard Hayley Pryor found Orts for another layup then Orts distributed to freshman guard Karleigh Joseph for a clutch 3-pointer to give Academy of Art a two-point lead with four minutes and 44 seconds left.

Senior forward Priscilla Mora converted a big three-point play and Orts' free throws made it a four-point lead for ART U with two minutes left, but consecutive layups by Alvarez had it anyone's game, tied 72-72 with 1:10 on the clock. Though both teams had opportunities to score from the field, the deadlock was broken on a foul that sent Ware to the free throw line with four seconds left. She split two foul shots, but a costly turnover on essentially their final possession ended up sealing what became a 74-72 win for the Knights after Pryor's free throw.

Academy of Art improves to 12-7 overall with the win and 8-3 in PacWest play. Orts' 32 points came on a 12-for-16 night from the field and combined with eight rebounds. In 24 minutes off the bench, Ware scored 17 points while Simon added 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Mora grabbed 10 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench as well.

Fresno Pacific's sixth consecutive loss puts them at 4-16 overall and 1-11 in conference. Bree Alvarez finished with a team-high 29 points (11-for-21 from the field) to lead the Sunbirds.

ART U heads to Southern California once again this weekend, facing Point Loma in San Diego for the first time this season. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. inside PLNU's Golden Gymnasium.