HONOLULU – A roller coaster ride of a Pacific West Conference rematch with Chaminade ended on a high note as Academy of Art women's basketball went from up 17 in the first quarter to down 10 in the third before surging back with a 13-0 run that took the Urban Knights into over 56 percent shooting from the field in the fourth frame for the 74-68 victory inside McCabe Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The win saw sophomore guard Alba Rovira Ayuso's season-high 24 points lead three Knights who scored season bests en route to sweeping the season series with the Silverswords.

The first trip down the court for ART U saw junior forward Yasmine Sifaoui put in a layup and it proved to be a sign of plenty of scoring to come as a 10-0 start featured a Rovira Ayuso 3-pointer and later a block and successive layup by freshman guard Lucia Revenga. Rovira Ayuso knocked down two more triples and soon, with Academy of Art converting eight of its first 11 shots, the visitors led 20-3.

Chaminade proceeded to counter with eight straight made free throws initiating a 17-0 run that eventually tied the contest 20-20 in the second quarter. After shooting over 61 percent from the field in the opening quarter, the Knights struggled in the second, but their six free throws helped keep them afloat despite a 10-2 Silverswords push to eventually put the home team ahead 40-32 at halftime.

A double-digit advantage was briefly held by CUH to begin the third quarter, but that was quickly halved by a basket from graduate student guard Briana Baker-Bruce and a three-point play conversion by Sifaoui. Rovira Ayuso's fourth triple of the game marked the first of three key 3-pointers that shifted momentum back to ART U as triples from graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty and freshman guard Anna Fornells in the final two minutes powered seven unanswered points of an eventual 13-0 run to connect the third and fourth frames.

The Silverswords managed to work the difference down to three points midway through the final quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman guard Maddie Morrow and Dougherty would cap what ended as a 21-2 game-changing push by the Knights. From up 65-54 at that point in the contest, Academy of Art would keep the margin around double digits until the final minute, finishing as 74-68 victors.

"In the game, our team's determination to finish strong stemmed from knowing we had beaten this team before and we are the better team," Dougherty said. "Despite a close first half, we emphasized the need to stay composed, face adversity head on, and get these lead back play by play. We all shared the goal of winning, which fueled our collective effort to get the dub. Defense and hustle plays were a huge contribution to this win with boxing out, rebounding, and getting gritty. It came down to who wanted it more and we knew we wanted this."

The Urban Knights improve to 4-10 overall and 3-5 in conference action as Rovira Ayuso produced her first double-double of the year on season-highs of 24 points (9-for-18 shooting from the field including a season-best four triples) and 10 rebounds in addition to four steals and two assists. Sifaoui matched her highest point total of the year (12) while securing her second double-double of the year with 10 rebounds plus three blocks and three assists. Fornells and Dougherty each had 10 points off the bench with the latter's season high featuring three 3-pointers. Revenga provided seven points, five rebounds, and three steals in her 22 minutes on the floor.

"Winning PacWest games on the road is especially difficult and credit to Coach [Michael] Edwards and his team for playing so well, our collective execution was really tested this afternoon," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "We are really at our best on both ends of the court and, when we stay focused on our team concepts, our individual performances are really beginning to shine. We have a quick turnaround with our travel day tomorrow before playing in Hilo, but we will do so knowing that we have a result to celebrate and today grew our confidence in our process."

Chaminade, now 2-12 on the season and 0-9 against PacWest opponents, relied heavily on 20 made free throws including six from leading scorer Sameera Elmasri who ended with 13 points.

Academy of Art finishes its three-part Hawaii road trip with the team's first time facing UH Hilo this Monday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT).