HAYWARD, Calif. – Academy of Art got back to the NCAA West Regional for the first time since 2016, but that is where the run ended for the Urban Knights, who ran into arguably the hottest team in the West Region going into the postseason as host and No. 1 seed Cal State East Bay defeated No. 8 Academy of Art, 67-49, in Pioneer Gym.
 
Cal State East Bay has won 22 of its last 23 games after defeating the Urban Knights, and the Pioneers eight-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the region. Academy of Art finished the year with an 18-11 record in the team’s best season in six years.
 
Chanel Stuart was playing in perhaps her last game in an Urban Knights uniform, and after four years with Academy of Art, she left everything on the line in Friday’s quarterfinal. She finished the game, which was a defensive battle, with a team-high 16 points.
 
Both defenses dominated the first quarter as the two teams went a combined 5 for 26 from the field, and at halftime, the Pioneers led 26-19 with both teams showing strong defense.
 
At the start of the second half, Cal State East Bay finally began to break through Academy of Art’s tough interior defense and put 25 points on the board in the quarter. The Pioneers scored 16 points in the paint, which equaled their total from each of the first two quarters, and Mina Tameliau scored 10 points in the quarter.
 
Academy of Art got its offense going in the fourth quarter with Brooke Rodgers scoring five points on just two shots, but the last-second push came too late to overcome Cal State East Bay’s lead.
 
Cal State East Bay held on and will advance to play against No. 5 Azusa Pacific on Saturday in the semifinals.