SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Saturday afternoon's Pacific West Conference rematch between Academy of Art women's basketball and UH Hilo saw the Vulcans get ahead by 11 points at halftime before a furious comeback had the game tied heading into the final quarter. Though the Urban Knights were right on UH Hilo's heels down the stretch, timely long range shooting and free throws helped the visitors seal a 61-56 victory inside Conlan Recreation Center.

Though the Vulcans opened the game with an 11-5 run, junior guard/forward Lily Perkins started a 6-0 run of high-percentage looks that tied things up at 11-11. The final minute and a half of the first quarter became a three-point shooting contest as UH Hilo's triple was one-upped by two from senior guard Josselyn Morris to put ART U ahead 17-14 moving to the second.

From the midway point in the second quarter, the Vulcans took control with 13 unanswered points to build a 33-22 advantage by halftime. The Knights' comeback, however, was soon afoot after Morris and graduate student guard Tayler Bennett connected for back-to-back triples roughly two minutes in. The long range barrage continued as a 13-0 push was powered by three consecutive 3-pointers from Bennett, sophomore guard Chanel Stuart, and Morris, suddenly giving Academy of Art a 38-37 lead.

At the forefront of the offense, Bennett helped ART U battle to what was a 43-43 tie as the fourth began, but seven straight from UH Hilo reestablished a leading margin. Five quick points from Bennett had it down to a two-point game, but two more Vulcan triples once again swung the momentum to their side. As time began to run out on a potential comeback, Morris knocked down a 3-pointer with a little over a minute left, cutting the deficit to 58-54, but three misses from distance combined with opponent free throws to end with UH Hilo on top 61-56.

ART U moves to 9-13 overall and 7-11 in conference action despite a team-high 20 points from Bennett who stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals as well. Morris came off the bench to log four steals and score 17 points including a 5-of-9 effort from long range while Stuart had her third consecutive game with double-digit rebounds (12).

For the 9-14 Vulcans (8-11 in PacWest play), Allie Navarette finished with game-highs of 27 points (10-of-12 from the free throw line) and 18 rebounds.

Academy of Art will be on the road for its next two contests, traveling down to Southern California for matchups with Azusa Pacific (Feb. 20) and Concordia (Feb. 22).