Women's Basketball | 12/18/2013 1:50:00 PM

Box Score

LAS VEGAS – The Academy of Art University (Calif.) women's basketball team pulled away from Western Oregon University, 84-71, in the first game of the 2013 Las Vegas Challenge hosted by Dixie State University at Orleans Arena Wednesday.

The Urban Knights (6-4, 3-0 PacWest Conference) outscored WOU, 54-33, in the second half for the victory. After trailing by 11 points early in the second half, ARTU responded with a 19-0 run to put the game away. During the run, the Knights held Western Oregon scoreless for a five-minute stretch midway through the second half.

"I told the team going into this game we had to defend and rebound," WOU Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "Our transition defense was just not up to par and we allowed them 21 second chances. On top of that, we only shot 53.3 percent from the free throw line. It's really tough to win games with those stats. We played a solid half like we typically do but just haven't figured out how to stop teams when they make their run. We also stopped attacking, got tentative and turned over the ball."

Molly O'Brien led Academy of Art with 18 points. Four of the junior's seven made field goals were from three-point range. Jasmin Guinn finished with a double-double, with a game-high 16 rebounds and 10 points. Alisa Griggs, Regina Camera, and Aleigh Krug each scored 12 points. Krug also had a double-double with 13 rebounds. Camera dished out five assists.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the field. ARTU made five of its 22 three-point attempts, while the Wolves were 3-of-17. Both teams struggled at the free throw line, as the Knights were 11-for-23, and WOU made eight of its 15 attempts. Academy of Art turned 20 WOU turnovers into 19 points. The Knights committed 14 turnovers. ARTU had a slim 49-44 edge in rebounds.

The Urban Knights led for just over 23 minutes in a game that featured just three ties and four lead changes. WOU used a 19-4 run to end the first half to take a 38-31 lead into halftime. A Chantel Divilbiss' three-pointer with 17:35 remaining in regulation gave the Wolves their largest lead, 45-34.

Shyla Akins put WOU ahead 60-50 with 11:07 left, but Western Oregon would not score again until Katie Goddard hit a shot at the 6:18 mark of the second half. That basket cut the Knights' lead to 69-62. ARTU built its lead to 16 points before the final score.

The Wolves (3-5, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) were led by Divilbiss' 16 points. She made 7-of-15 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Dana Goularte added 15 points and a team-high six rebounds. Goddard recorded double-digits for the second straight game with 12 points off of the bench.

The Knights have now won all four all-time meetings against Western Oregon, including a 64-50 meeting earlier this season in Monmouth.

"Chantel and Dana did a great job of attacking early and Katie came in and knocked down some key shots for us," Howard-Carpenter said. "We have to be more mentally prepared tomorrow and put together a 40-minute effort in order to get a split on the road."

The Wolves face Dixie State (2-5, 1-1 PacWest) Thursday. DSU's Haley Holmstead's 24.9 points per game is third in NCAA Div. II. She is making 44 percent of her shots from the field, which is second in the PacWest. The Red Storm has won both prior meetings with WOU. DSU won the first meeting, 97-85, at Western Oregon in 2010. Dixie State then won the following year at its 2011 Thanksgiving tournament, 83-76. This will be the first meeting between the programs on a neutral court.

Tipoff between Dixie State and Western Oregon is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on WOUWolves.com. The video is pay-per-view.

Western Oregon vs Academy of Art
12/18/13 12:00 pm at Las Vegas, NV (Orleans Arena)
At Las Vegas, NV (Orleans Arena)
ACADEMY OF ART 84, WESTERN OREGON 71
WESTERN OREGON (3-5)
Divilbiss,Chantel 7-15 0-0 16; Goularte,Dana 7-13 1-3 15; Goddard,Katie 5-9
1-2 12; Akins,Shyla 3-8 1-1 7; Mottershaw,Jordan 3-7 1-2 7; Henry,Kelsey 1-3
2-2 4; Miller,Elise 2-5 0-0 4; Rodriguez,Whitney 0-3 2-2 2; Steiger,Jackie
1-3 0-0 2; Fowler,Melissa 1-1 0-2 2; Titus,Angie 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 30-68
8-15 71.
ACADEMY OF ART (6-4)
O'Brien, Molly 7-14 0-0 18; Camera, Regina 5-15 1-3 12; Krug, Aleigh 6-7 0-1
12; Griggs, Alisa 4-8 4-7 12; Guinn, Jasmin 4-11 2-4 10; Sheng, Zoie 3-6 2-4
8; Galipeau, D'Andree 2-2 2-2 6; Storey, Sha'Nice 3-13 0-2 6; Martin,
Madeline 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-76 11-23 84.
Western Oregon................   38   33  -   71
Academy of Art................   30   54  -   84
3-point goals--Western Oregon 3-17 (Divilbiss,Chantel 2-8; Goddard,Katie
1-4; Akins,Shyla 0-1; Mottershaw,Jordan 0-2; Miller,Elise 0-1;
Steiger,Jackie 0-1), Academy of Art 5-22 (O'Brien, Molly 4-6; Camera, Regina
1-7; Guinn, Jasmin 0-1; Sheng, Zoie 0-1; Storey, Sha'Nice 0-7). Fouled
out--Western Oregon-None, Academy of Art-None. Rebounds--Western Oregon 44
(Goularte,Dana 6), Academy of Art 49 (Guinn, Jasmin 16). Assists--Western
Oregon 6 (Divilbiss,Chantel 2; Goddard,Katie 2), Academy of Art 17 (Camera,
Regina 5). Total fouls--Western Oregon 23, Academy of Art 17. Technical
fouls--Western Oregon-None, Academy of Art-None. A-112