FRESNO, Calif. – After steadily building a nine-point lead by the end of the first quarter and almost doubling that margin by halftime, Fresno Pacific saw its advantage cut nearly in half after Academy of Art women's basketball came back with a 7-1 run in the third. Despite the Urban Knights shooting over 53 percent from the field in that frame, Saturday's Pacific West Conference win went to the Sunbirds 79-57 inside their own Special Events Center.

A layup by freshman guard Anna Fornells got ART U started on its opening possession, but by the end of the opening quarter, FPU was ahead 17-8. Both sides were scoreless through the first two minutes of the second until a 9-2 Sunbirds run was countered by a 3-pointer from graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty. Free throws by junior forward/center Christy Ojide and a three-point play conversion by junior forward Yasmine Sifaoui had Academy of Art working on a 5-0 run, but five quick from Fresno Pacific resulted in the home team's 37-20 halftime advantage.

The third quarter was ART U's best of the evening as Ojide delivered a three-point play to start then sophomore guard Alba Rovira Ayuso had the team's next six points. A triple from senior guard Ashana Hinds ignited a 7-1 push to make it an 11-point ballgame with a little under three minutes to go in the frame and she would score the Knights' last five points before the fourth. There, 3-pointers and free throws allowed FPU a greater lead before the buzzer sounded on a 79-57 final.

Now 5-19 overall and 4-14 in PacWest play, Academy of Art saw Rovira Ayuso score in double figures for the fourth time in her last five games as she finished with a team-high 14 points plus seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Lucia Revenga also ended with double-digit points (12) in addition to her pair of steals while Sifaoui scored nine points and Ojide contributed 10 rebounds plus seven points.

"Credit to Fresno Pacific's staff and team for really being committed to their execution today," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "It put us on our heels and as a result made it difficult to get the game going in the style and tempo that we prefer. However, we found some more details to add to our program's foundation. For this I am proud of our achievements today."

Fresno Pacific improves to 19-7 on the season and 13-5 in conference action with the win after five Sunbirds scored in double figures led by 13 from Breanna Hurt.

The Urban Knights head into the season's final week with home rematches versus Biola (Thursday, Feb. 29 at 5 p.m. from Laney College Gym) and Point Loma (Saturday, Mar. 2 at 1 p.m. from SF State's Main Gym).