IRVINE, Calif. -- After Azusa Pacific picked up its fourth conference win last week, Academy of Art and Biola each won two PacWest games this week to equal the Cougars’ mark. Azusa Pacific still holds onto the top spot in the PacWest standings with an undefeated record in conference including a head-to-head win over Biola.
Biola won both of its games in Honolulu last week against Chaminade and Hawai`i Pacific, while today’s game at Hawai`i Hilo has been postponed. The Eagles got 21 points from their sharp shooter
Stephanie Lee in the win over Hawai`i Pacific, which was the first ever for Biola.
Academy of Art claimed wins over Point Loma and Holy Names to improve to 7-5 overall this season. In the win over Point Loma,
Christy Ojide recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds as the Urban Knights showed their depth with a couple key players unavailable that night.
Point Loma and Dominican are both on the bubble for qualifying for the PacWest Championships after the Sea Lions earned a 77-52 win at Dominican.
Haylee Saurette loaded up the stat sheet with 17 points, 18 rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
This week, Point Loma has two more important games as the Sea Lions get ready to visit Azusa Pacific and host Biola. Academy of Art will begin its trip to Hawai`i with crucial games against Hawai`i Pacific and Hawai`i Hilo. Dominican will also be in Honolulu this week to face Chaminade and Hawai`i Pacific. Fresno Pacific will host Holy Names and Azusa Pacific this week as the Sunbirds look for their first PacWest win.
Weekly awards for the week of Jan. 3-9
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amiah Simmons, Biola
G, Fr., 5-9 -- Osawatomie, Kan.
Simmons scored the most points in the PacWest last week with a total of 37 as she led Biola to a pair of wins against Chaminade and Hawai`i Pacific. The Eagles now have four conference wins which is tied for the most in the PacWest. Simmons opened the week with 19 points in a win over defending PacWest Champion Hawai`i Pacific, finishing just one point shy of her seventh 20-point game in her young collegiate career. She made 7 of 13 shots and had one assist. Two days later, she led the Eagles to a win over Chaminade with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Simmons added six rebounds and two steals. She is now averaging 17.6 points per game with a .510 field-goal percentage. She ranks fifth in the conference in scoring as a true freshman and eighth in field-goal percentage. Biola has now won five of its last seven games.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Chanel Stuart, Academy of Art
G, Jr., 5-8 -- Elk Grove, Calif.
Stuart tallied nine steals and three blocks in two wins last week for Academy of Art, which moved into second place in the PacWest standings. The junior opened the week with arguably her best game of the season with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting with five rebounds, four steals, three blocks and three assists in a win over Point Loma. Two days later, Stuart recorded a season-high five steals to defeat Holy Names, making three 3-pointers in the win. Stuart has now recorded a steal in nine-consecutive games and at least three steals in seven-consecutive games. She returned to the Urban Knights’ starting lineup during the team’s trip to Southern California and in her four games as a starter, she has made at least four steals in each game. Along with seven blocks, she now has 31 steals for the season which is only one behind the conference’s leader. As a team, Academy of Art has forced 251 turnovers and registered 147 steals this season.