Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Leinani Keanini & Rob Garcia)

Hayward, CA -- Academy of Art University women's basketball began its 2012-13 season in dominant fashion defeating Humboldt State 86-65 Friday night in the CCAA/PacWest Challenge. After jumping out to an early 25-3 lead via a 19-0 run with full court pressure and fast break results, ART U continued to command the tempo and never trailed inside Cal State East Bay's Pioneer Gym. Freshman Sha'Nice Storey's 22 points (3-for-5 from distance) led four Urban Knights scoring in double figures.

“This was a huge game for us to start the year,” head coach LaNay Larson said. “Humboldt State is a West Region opponent and picked to finish fourth in the CCAA so we definitely have a lot of respect for them and their program. They're always a great basketball team so we knew it was going to be a tough test for us coming in.”

Senior Nicol Biesek got the Urban Knights on the board first on ART U's opening possession to spark the game-opening run. Baskets by a variety of Academy of Art players then followed as freshman Regina Camera, senior Katy Wade, and Storey all got into the act. Storey nailed a triple and the senior tandem of Ariel Dale and Jordan Rogers each contributed tough three-point plays to highlight the push.

“The key was obviously our defensive pressure and the girls really got after it from the beginning and then we converted on that,” Coach Larson said. “Lots of transition points and that's important for us offensively to get in the flow.”

The burst became a wave as the Knights rattled off 19 unanswered points capped by a Camera layup. The Academy of Art freshmen continued to show their skills as Camera buried a 3-pointer, freshman Zoie Sheng got to the rim, and Storey helped build the biggest ART U lead, 32-6, with a steal and a layup.

“We ran our press really well today and I think we just feel really good in it,” Storey said. “We're really confident in what we can do on the defensive side in transitioning it into offense to get layups and easy baskets.”

The lead remained over 20 points for several minutes thereafter with pressure defense forcing the Jacks into turnovers and timeouts called. Despite the large margin, Humboldt began to mount a comeback late in the half by way of a 12-0 run which was eventually stopped by Biesek's tenth points of the half on a jumper. HSU would bring the deficit to 11 on a buzzer-beating 3-poiinter by Ali Orlich, making it 43-32 ART U at the half.


“I thought we did a great job of jumping out and really setting the tone especially defensively,” Coach Larson said. “We built a 20-plus point lead and kept that for most of the half. We had a couple kids get into foul trouble and went into halftime with an 11-point lead so we just talked about not being content and not having those defensive lapses. We wanted to continue that effort and feel the need to dominate.”

A Humboldt layup to start the second period brought them as close as they would come the rest of the way, however, with Storey continuing to pour in the offense. The freshman and St. Mary's Academy graduate reeled off five quick, off steals by Rogers and Camera, to push it back to a double-digit lead. The teams traded baskets, but after a jumper by freshman Jasmin Guinn, the Knights quickly went up 18.

Approaching the halfway mark, sophomore Madeline Martin helped ART U stay ahead by grabbing two offensive rebounds on the same possession before finding Sheng streaking to the basket. The lead hovered around 16 points with Guinn making several relentless drives to the rim and knocking down her free throws. Each time the Jacks tried coming back, a different Urban Knight was there to halt them including another five-point burst by Storey. In the end, Academy of Art won its first game this season 86-65 with solid defense and a 40-20 points off turnovers discrepancy.

As a whole, the Knights shot just under 50 percent from the floor and over half of their 86 points came off the bench. Storey led all scorers with 22 points in her first collegiate game including three shots from long range and four rebounds. Dale added 13 points and three steals while Camera offered 12 points and three steals as well. Biesek was the fourth ART U player to score in double figures (10 points) and Wade officially started her 2012-13 campaign with a game-high 10 rebounds. Academy of Art sits at 1-0 on the year.

“We've got seven to eight players who on any night could lead us in scoring,” Coach Larson said. “I feel like this team is really unselfish. Tonight was definitely a great night for Shani. She really got out and ran the floor well, got transition baskets, and finished. She hit some 3-pointers which makes her hard to guard because she's a really athletic player who can get to rim or shoot the ball.”

For the Jacks, Caitie Richards finished with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds, but had nine of HSU's 37 turnovers. Orlich produced 12 points off the bench and Elle Anderson contributed 11 points. Lisa Petty had a game-high seven assists for a Humboldt State team that falls to 0-1.

The Urban Knights will return to Pioneer Gym tomorrow evening for the finale of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge. ART U is scheduled to take on host Cal State East Bay at 5:00 PM.

“East Bay is going to be a tough game,” Coach Larson said. “They got to come watch us tonight so they'll definitely be prepared. We've got to come out with the same tenacity and intensity that we did tonight. We don't take anybody lightly. All these teams are going to give us their best shot so we definitely set the tone tonight, but we can't let down and have to continue that tomorrow.”