OAKLAND, Calif. – Consistent scoring around the basket and capitalization on opponent miscues helped Academy of Art women's basketball outlast strong long-range shooting by Holy Names inside Tobin Gymnasium on Saturday evening. A steady comeback after the first quarter put the Urban Knights ahead and, with four players scoring in double figures, they never looked back en route to an 83-75 Pacific West Conference victory.

The Hawks could not miss from beyond the three-point line in the early going as five triples by Ariana Hernandez helped the home team establish a 27-21 advantage by the conclusion of the first quarter. A free throw by sophomore forward Lily Perkins innocently came at the end of the opening frame, but it soon gave way to a critical 13-2 run that saw Perkins and junior guard Brianna Cates work in tandem.

"I'm very proud of our team for bouncing back and improving in areas that helped us make progress tonight," said head coach Camille Williams. "Our shift happened when we started to use our rotation and the energy of the bench gave us the boost we needed to turn the corner. It started with our defensive effort and carried over into our offense."

Although Holy Names came within a single point on multiple occasions, Academy of Art did not relinquish the lead and increased the margin with an 11-5 push that featured two triples from junior guard Josselyn Morris to close the half.

From up seven at the break, ART U grew its advantage to double figures briefly at the start of the third quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from the Hawks quickly reduced it back to a single basket difference. Steady offensive production from there helped the Knights go back up by 11 after an 11-3 surge powered by layups from junior guard Karleigh Joseph, sophomore forward Megan Jefferson, and Cates.

The lead hovered around 10 points for the majority of the fourth, briefly dropped to six on two occasions, but Academy of Art had answers each time with Joseph hitting a triple the first time and four consecutive made free throws with under 45 seconds on the clock. In the end, the Urban Knights prevailed 83-75.

"We did an excellent job of capitalizing on our defense and attacking the basket to give us an advantage at the rim," said Williams. "We knew they had great size inside and didn't want to back down. We hit some timely 3-pointers as well that helped open up the inside."

With the victory, ART U rises to 3-11 on the season and 2-9 in conference action. Four players finished scoring in double figures led by Cates' 17 points to go with three assists and two steals in 23 minutes. From the starting lineup, Perkins' 16 points plus seven rebounds and two steals combined with 14 points and three steals from Morris who shot 4-of-8 from the field. Joseph came off the bench to drop season-highs of 10 points and eight rebounds.

"Tonight was truly a team win," said Williams. "Everyone contributed, shared the ball, and made plays for each other. It was fun to watch them get excited for each other too."

Suffering its ninth straight loss, Holy Names falls to 1-18 overall and 1-12 in PacWest play. Hernandez ended with a game-high 21 points including a 7-for-11 performance from long range.

Moving into the midway point of its five-game road swing, Academy of Art next travels to Southern California for rematches with Concordia (Jan. 24) and Point Loma (Jan. 26).