BELMONT, Calif. – Trading blows with UH Hilo in another defensive Pacific West Conference matchup, Academy of Art women's basketball shifted from trailing by three with just under three minutes left to winning 50-44 thanks to a 9-0 run which featured points from its three leading scorers, senior guard
Lauryn Manns, sophomore forward/center
Alisha Wilson, and sophomore guard
Jadence Clifton. In a game where points were at a premium, Manns and Clifton each had 12 apiece while Wilson logged her 11th consecutive double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) and set a new career-high with seven steals.
"Round one with Hilo, they forced us to take tough 2-pointers while inviting us to take threes, but in round two our game plan was to move all of offensive action closer to the rim since they were sagging so much," said Head Coach
Lindsey Foster. "Along with pounding it inside and letting our bigs go to work, defensively we played a lot more man and we did a good job making some defensive adjustments with switches and guarding some of Hilo's action. I also challenged our team to take pride in their defense."
Though the Vulcans opened with six unanswered, the Urban Knights were happy to repay the favor and then some as a 9-0 response was punctuated by five points from Manns. From up 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, ART U executed what was another 9-0 push across the two frames with the aforementioned trio all having moments to shine offensively. Five points from Hilo in the final minute and 20 seconds, however, kept them close, trailing 22-19 at the half.
Eight straight Vulcan points began the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from junior guard
Ashana Hinds plus buckets from Manns kept the game close. The Knights then took their turn to end the frame strong as freshman guard
Madison Johnson nailed a triple before a Wilson free throw tied things up at 33-33 with the fourth to play.
Another 3-pointer by Hinds had the contest knotted at 39-39 midway through and soon two scores by the visitors elevated them to a 44-39 advantage with 2:54 left on the clock. ART U then proceeded force four missed shots and three turnovers while Clifton and Manns converted free throws and Wilson provided the go-ahead layup before promptly stealing away the Vulcans' next possession toward the eventual 50-44 victory, the fewest points allowed by Academy of Art this season.
"We talked a lot about how the game of basketball is filled with ebb and flow moments and how we need to respond to those moments versus react," Foster said. "I truly believe those last two minutes and 50 seconds was about our response to get the job done versus potentially a reaction where the outcome could have gone differently. I'm really proud of our response to gut out the win."
The Urban Knights improve to 5-14 overall and 5-9 in PacWest play after another all-around performance from Wilson who ended three steals from the program's first triple-double. Along with her seven steals (a new career-high by one), Wilson's 11 points and 12 rebounds marked her 13th double-double of the year (three from tying the ART U single-season record) and gave her 27 in her career, tying her with
Jasmin Guinn for the most in an Urban Knight career.
Meanwhile, Manns and Clifton's respective team-high 12 points came primarily in different ways with the former going 5-for-10 from the field and the latter ending 10-for-13 from the free throw line (the most by a Knight this season). Manns added four rebounds and had a career-high of her own with three blocks.
Hilo drops to 7-13 on the season and 4-10 in conference action despite Mandi Kawaha's full stat line of 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Next traveling to Southern California for the second time this season, ART U has rematches with No. 18 Azusa Pacific (Feb. 2) and Biola (Feb. 4) on the horizon.
"We have to bring our A-game for this SoCal trip," Foster said. "Our team knows that. Our margin of error is such a small window and that will be the emphasis this week against two good, established, and well-coached programs."
