by LAIE, Hawaii – BYU-Hawaii women’s basketball kept the game close for three quarters, but fell 92-81 to Academy of Art on Tuesday night in the Cannon Activities Center.
Celeste Claw (Navajo Nation) scored more points than any Seasider this season and set her career-high with 30 points. Mata Tonga recorded her career-high of 13 points and tied another career-high with 14 rebounds. Natallia Cravens joined Tonga and Claw, setting a career-high with 10 points. Valerie Nawahine contributed 12 points on the night.
Sha’Nice Storey led Academy of Art (15-5, 10-0 PacWest) with 24 points. Jasmin Guinn added a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Urban Knights.
BYU-Hawaii (6-8, 3-6 PacWest) shot 43.1 percent from the field, while Academy of Art shot 43.7 percent. The Urban Knights had the edge with their 41.4 percent from behind the arc, holding the Seasiders to 28.6 percent and outrebounding 49-38. The difference in the game came as Academy of Art outscored BYU-Hawaii 21-10 in second chance points.
The Seasiders built an 8-2 lead in the first minute of the game with 3-pointers by Nawahine and Jiashan Cui. A 7-point run for the Urban Knights quickly gave them a 9-8 advantage with 7:30 left and the teams began to trade baskets.
The teams traded leads for the remainder of the quarter and Claw tied it at 23 with a shot behind the arc in the final seconds of the quarter.
The score remained close in the second quarter until Academy of Art broke away on a 12-3 run to grab the 37-30 lead with 5:21 to go. Mata Tonga and Emily Nelson sent the Seasiders on a 9-3 run to close the gap to 40-39 with 1:39 on the clock.
A jump shot by D’Andree Galipeau as time expired secured the 44-41 edge for the Urban Knights heading into the locker room.
A 7-2 Urban Knights run with 8:26 in the third quarter extended their lead to 51-45, but BYU-Hawaii answered back with a 7-1 run to bring them within one point with five minutes left.
With two minutes on the clock, Academy of Art pulled ahead to 63-56 on an 8-2 run with four points from Desiree Harris.
Another 8-2 run for the Urban Knights with 8:39 in the game gave them the 72-63 advantage. Back-to-back jump shots by Cravens and Tonga made it a 75-70 game with six minutes remaining.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Jasmin Guinn gave Academy of Art the largest lead of the game at 81-70 with 4:38 left. Claw scored six points to lead BYU-Hawaii back into the game during a 9-1 run which cut the lead to 82-79 with 1:50 on the clock, but Academy of Art was able to secure the victory from the free-throw line down the stretch.
The Seasiders host California Baptist on Saturday at 5 p.m. HST. Live stats and video will be available online.
