In a week where Academy of Art University Women's Basketball went 2-0 and knocked off #13 Grand Canyon in overtime, senior forward Ariel Dale led by example. She provided an important jolt of energy off the bench, averaging 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game for the week.
Dale could be found rebounding the ball on the offensive glass and locking down defensively against a Grand Canyon team that represented the highest ranked opponent ART U has ever faced. She balanced her points evenly over the halves, but it was the career-high four blocks that made the biggest statement. As the Knights held a six-point advantage with 20 seconds left in overtime, Dale sent away a GCU layup to help preserve the 66-59 upset.
On Saturday, Dale again played a balanced game over two halves in a 66-59 victory versus Fresno Pacific. After scoring seven in the first, the senior went for 10 in the second and again crashed the offensive glass in a major way for her team. She finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
“I feel like if I bring energy and keep myself up as well as my teammates by staying positive and being aggressive, our team seems to feed off of each other,” Dale said. “So I try to keep my energy up as high as I can even though we had a big game Thursday and the season has been long, I'm a senior so I only have a little bit to go and I'm trying to stay on top of it every game and just do what I can to help our team succeed.”
