HAYWARD, Calif.—Trailing by five late in the third quarter, the Academy of Art used a 12-point run to defeat Western Oregon University, 77-65, in non-conference women's basketball action at the Veteran's Day Classic on Saturday.  

Western Oregon (0-2) generated a five-point lead (52-47) with 1:32 left in the third, but the Academy of Art (1-1) held the Wolves scoreless for more than four minutes of court time to reverse the spread.

"Defensively, we have to commit to staying in front of the ball and boxing out," said Western Oregon head coach Holli Howard-Carpter. "A few huge offensive rebound putbacks allowed them back in the game and that is an effort piece we need to fix."

The Urban Knights went on to outscore the Wolves 24-13 in the fourth and extended the advantage to double digits in the final minute to put the game out of reach.

"Academy took the momentum in the fourth and never looked back," added Howard-Carpenter. "We can't expect to win games shooting as poorly as we did tonight."

Olivia Denton led all Wolves with 13 points on 5 of 14 shooting while adding nine rebounds and four assists. Tresai McCarver provided a spark of the bench with 11 points while Ali Nelke registered six points and a team-high 11 boards.

"Tresai gave us a huge lift off the bench," said Howard-Carpenter. "She was aggressive and got tho the rim and played great defense."

ART U's Brianna Cates led all players with 23 points on 8 of 18 shooting. The Urban Nights also received solid offensive contributions from Lily Perkins (16 points), Ines Medina (11 points) and Chanel Stuart (11 points).

Academy of Art got to the line on 32 occasions with 19 makes compared to 12 of 18 effort for the Wolves at the charity stripe.  

The Wolves will make another long-distance road trip next week with a pair of contests at the Dixie State Tournament on Nov. 16-17 in St. George, Utah. Western Oregon will play the host Trailblazers at 5 p.m. on Friday and a neutral match against Colorado Mesa at 3 p.m. on Saturday.