Game #6
ART U Urban Knights (0-5, 0-0 PacWest) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (2-5, 0-0 PacWest)
Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 5:30 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (0-5, 0-0 PacWest) vs. Concordia Eagles (3-3, 0-0 PacWest)
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 2 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. – CU Arena
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (0-5) vs. Sonoma State Seawolves (2-4)
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 6 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Live Video

SEASON'S FIRST PACWEST ACTION AHEAD OF FINAL NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUP
Academy of Art women's basketball goes up against its first two Pacific West Conference opponents in Southern California this week before the Urban Knights' home opener on Tuesday as a busy opening week of December sees ART U return to action.

TIP-OFF
Down in Southern California for its first PacWest games of the season, ART U opens with Point Loma inside Golden Gymnasium in San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. Two days later on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m., the Knights do battle with Concordia inside CU Arena in Irvine. Academy of Art then makes its home debut hosting Sonoma State inside Walter Gleason Gym on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
One of five PacWest teams holding opponents under 70.0 points per game, Academy of Art currently ranks fourth in the conference defensively, allowing the opposition to just 67.8 points per contest.

The Urban Knights have been led offensively by sophomore guard Jadence Clifton and her 13.4 points per game (10th in PacWest) while two others are putting up double figures in sophomore forward/centers Alisha Wilson (10.7) and Christy Ojide (10.0). Both Clifton (.500) and Wilson (.517) are shooting 50 percent or higher thus far while Ojide is currently second in the conference in blocks per game (1.4). One game removed from her 10-assist and seven-steal performance, Clifton adds the PacWest's third-highest assists per game average (4.0), fourth-highest steals per game average (2.4), and eighth-highest free throw percentage (.778). Meanwhile, Wilson has collected a double-double in each of her outings, returning her to the top of the PacWest at 11.0 rebounds per contest. Wilson has logged a double-double in two of her three games played this season.

ON POINT
After opening the season with four consecutive losses to California Collegiate Athletic Association opponents, Point Loma posted back-to-back victories over Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene before falling to Western Washington most recently on Nov. 29. Rebounding and defense have been the Sea Lions' two hallmarks thus far as PLNU ranks second in the PacWest in both rebounds (39.9) and blocks (4.0) per game. Shooting over 45 percent from the field (third in PacWest), Haylee Saurette has served as Point Loma's top scorer and rebounder at 13.9 points (seventh in PacWest) and 8.7 rebounds (fourth in PacWest) per contest while the tandem of Annika Thayer (1.1) and Allie Carreon (1.0) are both inside the conference's top eight in blocks per game. ART U has been victorious in its last three games against PLNU, bringing the historical matchup to an even 9-9.

EAGLES EVALUATION
An up-and-down 2022-23 campaign thus far has seen Concordia drop its first two games, win its next pair, then split its latest set for a 3-3 record approaching PacWest play which begins against Dominican on Dec. 1. The most recent games could not have been more different as the Eagles were bested by Northwest Nazarene 70-48 before topping Simon Fraser 90-86. Helping CUI rank third in the PacWest in points per game (68.8) has been their conference-best .758 free throw percentage as well as their second-highest three-point percentage (.331) with the tandem of Teagan Thurman (17.3 ppg) and Jasmine Rachal (14.3 ppg) both inside the PacWest's top five in scoring average as well as field goal percentage. Thurman adds 9.7 rebounds (second in PacWest) and 2.3 steals (fifth in PacWest) per game as well. After splitting its two pairings with Concordia last year, Academy of Art is up 6-4 all-time.

KNOWING NOMA
Though a double-digit win over Dominican began the year, Sonoma State endured four straight losses thereafter before righting the ship with a dominant victory on the road at Holy Names most recently. The Seawolves, who continue CCAA play against Cal State East Bay and Cal State Dominguez Hills this week, also play their final non-conference contest versus ART U on Tuesday. SSU's lone double-digit scoring average belongs to Ali McDonald (10.3 ppg) while she also paces the team in rebounding (8.0 per game) and blocks (1.5 per game). The Urban Knights won the latest two meetings with Sonoma State, making the historical matchup 2-2 overall.

PACIFIC DEFEATS ACADEMY OF ART IN KNIGHTS' NOVEMBER FINALE
Facing its first and only NCAA Division I opponent of the regular season on Nov. 22, Academy of Art offered balanced scoring but could not overcome an early push by Pacific in a 90-26 result won by the home team inside Alex G. Spanos Center.

LOOKING AHEAD
Next week's matchup with Sonoma State will begin a four-part ART U homestand in which the Urban Knights host Chaminade (Dec. 10), Azusa Pacific (Dec. 17), and Biola (Dec. 19).