SAN FRANCISCO -- In a hard fought Pacific West Conference battle at home on Wednesday evening, Academy of Art women's basketball came all the way back from 16 points down to force a tie game late in the third quarter, but Chaminade prevailed 58-54. Sophomore forward Lily Perkins tied her season-high with 19 points to lead the Urban Knights' second half charge.

The Silverswords built an early advantage and, despite baskets from junior guards Karleigh Joseph and Brianna Cates, the margin was 13 at the end of the first quarter. The tides began to turn in favor of ART U in the second quarter with freshman guard Chanel Stuart and junior guard Josselyn Morris each delivering layups in the first two minutes.
 
A three-point play was converted by Cates and Perkins added another layup, Chaminade's lead over was cut to eight midway through the quarter. An 8-0 Academy of Art run then had the margin down to three before the Silverswords upped it to 32-26 at halftime.

ART U continued to push through the third with Perkins, Cates, and redshirt senior guard Taloni Reese all combining for 15 of the Knights' 16 points in the quarter. After a 9-0 run was capped off by five straight points from Perkins, Academy of Art soon tied the game 42-42 with less than a minute to go in the third.
 
Though the difference was a single point for some of the fourth quarter, it was also six points at various stages down the stretch. After two free throws from Stuart made it 53-49 with one minute and 37 seconds on the clock, the Urban Knights could not capitalize on chances to lessen the margin any further and, despite a triple by Perkins with just four seconds left, the Silverswords exited Kezar Pavilion with the 58-54 victory.

"It was great to see our team pull together to make this game competitive," said head coach Camille Williams. "We are growing game by game and I like what I see in our effort to compete hard against these teams that are ahead of us in conference."
 
ART U moves to 1-8 overall this season with a conference record of 0-6. Perkins tied her season-high with 19 points while setting a new season-high with nine rebounds plus three steals. Stuart delivered her own season-high with 15 rebounds (10 on the offensive glass) to go with eight points and five steals. Cates added 14 points and six rebounds, contributing to a 30-18 difference in points in the paint which favored Academy of Art.

"We had an edge in the paint tonight," said Williams. "We talked about higher percentage shots from the last game and looking for layup opportunities. We needed a few more to fall for us. This is a game to build on."

Chaminade improves to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in PacWest play. All 10 Silverswords who played got on the scoreboard led by Destiny Castro's 25 points (which included a 9-of-10 performance from the foul line), 10 rebounds, and five steals.

The Knights next host UH Hilo this Friday, Jan 4 once again in Kezar Pavilion at 5 p.m.