SAN FRANCISCO – Saturday's regular season finale had a disappointing end result for Academy of Art University women's basketball as Azusa Pacific effectively knocked the Urban Knights out of Pacific West Conference Tournament contention with an 81-52 win. The victory coupled with Dominican triumphing over UH Hilo denied ART U its fifth consecutive appearance in the postseason. Despite the outcome, however, Academy of Art still enjoyed a special moment honoring its four seniors,
Desiree Harris,
Alana Simon,
Priscilla Mora, and
D'Andree Galipeau, following the game.
After making two of its first three 3-pointers and establishing an 11-7 lead, the Knights were hit with a 10-2 run by the Cougars. Two more triples down the stretch ended the first quarter with APU on top 25-18. That momentum carried through the early part of the second as the Cougars executed a 14-0 run with effectiveness rebounding the basketball.
A 3-pointer by junior guard
Jazzlynn Brewster stopped the surge, but ART U could not get the margin to single digits by halftime. Mora knocked down a jumper in transition with under a minute left to cut it to 43-33 Azusa Pacific at the intermission.
In the early stages of the third quarter, Academy of Art fought back with an 8-0 push including a pair of layups by junior forward
Helena Orts. With five minutes and 53 seconds left in the third, ART U found itself down just 47-43, but two 3-pointers by the Cougars came during an 18-2 response to reestablish the double-digit advantage. The Knights came as close as 15 points in the fourth, but Azusa Pacific would go on to win 81-52.
Azusa Pacific enters the PacWest Championship Tournament seeded fifth after Saturday's win improved their overall record to 15-13 and 13-7 in conference. Abigail Goodsell posted a game-high 23 points while Gabrielle Kaiser delivered a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Academy of Art finishes its 2016-17 season seventh in the PacWest standings at 16-12 overall and 12-8 in conference play. Orts finished with a team-high 13 points, Simon had 12 points, and Brewster added 10 points plus five rebounds and four assists.
