SAN FRANCISCO – Wednesday night inside Kezar Pavilion, Academy of Art women's basketball faced off against Azusa Pacific, one of two remaining teams carrying a Pacific West Conference record, and despite 27 points off the bench plus a season-high 15 steals, ART U dropped a 97-58 decision to the Cougars.

Junior guard Brianna Cates and freshman guard Chanel Stuart returned to team and made an immediate impact, combining to score 16 of the Urban Knights' 25 first-half points. ART U was able to stay on the heels of the Cougars early in the first quarter, but an 8-0 run gave APU some initial breathing room before a fast break layup by Cates made it a 23-10 ballgame through one quarter of play.
 
After Cates put in five points in the first two minutes of the second quarter, the Cougars struck for another 8-0 run before sophomore forward Lily Perkins nailed a 3-pointer. With two minutes and 44 seconds left in the half, junior forward Ines Medina shifted some momentum back to the Knights with a triple of her own and halftime brought a 49-25 score favoring Azusa Pacific.

Perkins had the first points for Academy of Art in the second half, connecting on a 3-pointer before scoring back-to-back layups midway through. Four steals in the third quarter alone helped ART U whittle the margin down to 68-48 heading to the fourth.

"We talked about playing our defense more aggressively and I think that contributed to our steals," said head coach Camille Williams. "It also helps to have Lily's instincts with Chanel's ability to read passes combined with Josselyn [Morris'] hustle."

However, after a 10-0 Cougar run to start the final quarter, the Knights could not recover and ended up taking a 97-58 loss at the evening's conclusion.

Academy of Art, now 1-6 on the year and 0-4 in PacWest action, was led by a season-high 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocks from Perkins in 34 minutes off the bench. Cates finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field, Medina contributed 10 points plus nine rebounds, and Stuart contributed eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

"We decided to have a stronger bench tonight to ensure there would be constant contributions," said Williams. "I think Lily did a great job of handling that responsibility and being a threat right off the bat."

Azusa Pacific remains undefeated in conference play, pushing its PacWest record to 7-0 while its overall record moves to 10-3. Savanna Hanson posted a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists while the tandem of Cierra Roufosse and Rachel Bozlee each added 23 points apiece.
 
After an extended holiday break, ART U welcomes Hawaii Pacific to Kezar Pavilion for a New Year's Eve matchup tipping off at 1 p.m.

"Over the break, we want to continue to focus on strengthening our bodies, conditioning, and making sure we understand we come back to a very competitive game after break," said Williams. "Nothing will be easy moving forward so the focus will be on what can we improve and making sure we continue to work together."