Knights Win 4th Straight; 2-0 in PCAC

The Knights are 2-0 in PCAC play for the first time since 2015 after pulling away from Southwestern in the fourth quarter to earn a 77-66 home victory. They collected a team-record 71 rebounds en route to their fourth consecutive win, which equals an earlier win streak this season.

The Knights were coming off a 71-67 road win at Mesa, the first victory over their PCAC rivals since Feb. 5 2020.

Sophomore Dahlia Blake led the Knights with 15 points and 18 rebounds, and sophomore Maddox Weisskopf added 11 points and 10 rebounds. 

Laylah Castro joined her fellow starters in double figures with 11 points, five assists, and three steals, while Aniya Felder led the bench offensively with 11 points and five rebounds. Aamori Daniels provided nine points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, also off the bench.

Both teams shot a poor 28% on the night, but San Diego City did shoot 39.1% in both the first and fourth quarters. 

The Knights went ahead by 10 points in the second quarter, but Southwestern got within five by halftime behind some hot shooting from Ari Mason who made six 3-pointers in the first half. 

Southwestern (6-9, 0-1 PCAC) eventually took a 44-41 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Knights responded with a 7-0 run to regain a 4-point lead.

With the Knights holding a slight 52-50 advantage after three quarters, they opened the final period with a 13-2 spurt in the first four minutes, capped off by a 3-pointer from Elissa St. Julien who totaled seven points, seven rebounds, and four assists on the night. 

The Southwestern Jaguars had one last run in them and closed the gap to 67-61 with 2:53 remaining, but St. Julien and Blake made back-to-back buckets to put the game away. 

The Knights improved 10-8 overall and will play the next three games on the road starting with Imperial Valley (4-12, 0-1) next on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. They will then head to No. 6 MiraCosta (16-0, 1-0 PCAC) on Jan. 21 and to No. 18 Palomar (11-6, 2-0 PCAC) on Jan. 23.