SAN FRANCISCO – With neither side separating from the other by more than eight points throughout, Monday's Pacific West Conference thrilling rematch between Academy of Art women's basketball and UH Hilo saw a one-point difference in the waning seconds and culminated with the Vulcans on top 63-60. Honored prior to the contest, ART U's senior quartet of graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty and forward Claire Ricard as well as senior forward Yasmine Sifaoui and forward/center Christy Ojide Boiko all scored and combined for close to half of the Urban Knights' points.

"When building this program a season ago, the veteran players were going to really help us grow quickly," said Head Coach Jesse Clark. "I am so thankful to have coached such a wonderful group of seniors this season. Christy, Claire, Emilia, and Yasmine have raised the standard of what it means to be a student-athlete at ART U, and I am very proud of the impact they have made on their teammates and our program as a whole."

Though the seniors provided 10 of the team's first 12 points for a 12-5 advantage to begin, the visitors had it down to just 15-14 heading into the second quarter. The lead was exchanged throughout that frame as a Vulcans triple was met with a 4-0 run on free throws by freshman guard Violet Stutz and a score from sophomore guard Lucia Revenga, but the half ended with five straight from UH Hilo for their 33-30 margin at the break.

After the Vulcans built a six-point lead at the start of the third, repeated scores by Ojide Boiko and Revenga kept their squad within striking distance, down by three once again as the fourth commenced. A 5-0 run brought UH Hilo its largest advantage of the evening at 55-47 yet Academy of Art refused to go away, getting its next five points from redshirt freshman guard Karereatua Williams during a 9-1 response that tied things up at 56-56.

Free throws were primarily the points scored in the final two minutes as a subsequent 57-57 tie was broken up by two pairs from the Vulcans. Ojide Boiko, however, crashed a missed triple on ART U's penultimate possession and brought her team within one at 61-60 with three seconds left. Though the visitors went up by three on free throws that followed, the Knights did have a chance to tie with a 3-pointer, but they could not get the attempt off as time expired in the 63-60 final.

"In a game with so many ties and lead changes, the ability to execute on both sides of the ball was going to be the difference for both teams tonight," Clark said. "Down the stretch we were able to create some really good scoring opportunities, however, we needed to be more consistent to the details to be able to finish more of our defensive possessions successfully."

The Urban Knights' overall record moves to 11-15 while they remain 4-14 in conference matchups after Ojide Boiko led Monday's contest with 14 points and Revenga followed with 12 points plus seven rebounds. Sifaoui and sophomore guard Anna Fornells meanwhile combined for 17 points and 10 rebounds.

With the win, the Vulcans now find themselves at 7-18 on the year and 5-14 in PacWest play. Keirstyn Agonias put in a game-high 19 points while Caiyle Kaupu provided 17 points, six rebounds, and five steals.

Though the 2024-25 home slate is now complete for ART U, the Knights have two more road games still to play to close out the regular season with a trip to Concordia (Feb. 27) and Azusa Pacific (Mar. 1) on the way.