Game #11
ART U Urban Knights (6-4, 0-3 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (3-6, 2-1 PacWest)
Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

ART U TO FINISH SIX-PART HOMESTAND, 2024 IN SAN FRANCISCO
Preparing for its 11th game of the season and final in the month of December, Academy of Art women's basketball clashes with Chaminade this weekend in Pacific West Conference play.

TIP-OFF
This Saturday, Dec. 21 will see the Urban Knights host the Silverswords from Kezar Pavilion at 1 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
Still carrying the fourth-best overall record in the PacWest at 6-4, Academy of Art has built its win total on victories over SF State (Nov. 8), Cal State Monterey Bay (Nov. 9), Cal Maritime (Nov. 12), Stanislaus State (Nov. 16), Sonoma State (Nov. 21), and UC Merced (Dec. 1). ART U collectively continues to be found among the conference's top three in rebounds (41.7), assists (15.2), and 3-pointers made (8.3) per game as well as opponent field goal percentage (.340).

The Urban Knights increased their current streak of having at least seven different players score to 10 games this season (16 straight dating back to the end of last year) as senior forward Yasmine Sifaoui has steadily moved to highest average on the team at 11.3 points per game following four consecutive contests in double digits while shooting .574 from the field in that span to elevate her to third in the PacWest (.505) on the year. Junior guard Alba Rovira Ayuso also averages double figures (10.0 points per game) while senior forward/center Christy Ojide Boiko is third on the squad at 8.6 points per contest. Ojide Boiko adds 6.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game (both ninth in PacWest) and is closing in on multiple Academy of Art greats in career statistical categories. Her 533 career rebounds are just nine from Regina Camera (fourth in ART U history) with her 307 defensive boards 10 off Jessica Nolan (sixth in ART U history) and her 226 on the offensive end only 24 from Alisha Wilson (second in ART U history) while Ojide Boiko's 96 blocks have her four from becoming the first Urban Knight to date in triple digits.

Ojide Boiko shares the ninth-place PacWest ranking in blocks per game with freshman forward Keira Mitchell (0.9) while sophomore guard Lucia Revenga has risen to seventh in assists per game (2.9) 12 in her last three outings. With at least one steal in eight of her 10 games this year, sophomore guard Anna Fornells sits at eighth in the conference with an average of 1.8 steals per contest.

SEEING 'SWORDS
Despite being in the last of 14 spots in the conference's preseason poll, Chaminade has two wins in its first three PacWest games including victories over UH Hilo and Hawaii Pacific before this past Tuesday's 82-63 loss to Menlo. The Silverswords, who face Dominican on Dec. 19 ahead of this weekend's matchup with ART U, are 3-6 overall this year after splitting with Embry-Riddle to open the season then being swept in back-to-back pairings with Alaska and Arizona Christian. Second in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (28.6), CUH is led offensively by the most recent PacWest Player of the Week in Sameera Elmasri who ranks barely second in the conference in points per game (18.0) with more than 22 percent of the team's shot attempts and over 31 percent of the team's free throw attempts. Winners of the two squads' last six meetings, Academy of Art is 23-3 all-time versus Chaminade.

BIGS SHINE IN KNIGHTS' NARROW DEFEAT AT SUNBIRDS' HAND
All even through three quarters of Pacific West Conference play, Academy of Art women's basketball and Fresno Pacific saw their matchup's momentum move to the visitors' side with a 9-2 run in the waning minutes of regulation that ultimately resulted in FPU's 66-57 win inside Kezar Pavilion on Dec. 13. The trio of senior forward/center Christy Ojide Boiko, senior forward Yasmine Sifaoui, and freshman forward Keira Mitchell combined for 35 points and 14 rebounds in the tough back-and-forth battle.

LOOKING AHEAD
The 2025 calendar year will begin promptly with ART U in Southern California to face Biola and Point Loma on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4 respectively.