ST. GEORGE - Taylor Mann (Castle Dale, UT/Emery) had a career day on the floor with 26 points and 19 rebounds but the Dixie State women's basketball team came up short in the final minutes, falling 70-67 to Academy of Art on Wednesday afternoon.

Mann just missed a 20-20 game, but blocked four shots, posted two steals and shot 10 of 16 from the field to go along with her career-best in points and season-high for rebounds. The home team dominated the paint with a 38-18 average, but still left points on the table making 27 of 76 attempts from the field. 

"It was a great game for us, we just came up with too many empty possessions down the stretch," head coach Jenny Thigpin said. "We've got to be able to make layups but the girls played really hard from start to finish."

The Red Storm (4-7, 3-2) outrebounded the Urban Knights (9-3, 4-0) 59-44 but were outshot behind the arc 42.1 percent to just 16.7 percent. DSU had Kaylah Miller (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day) also in double figures with 14 points scored.

Dixie State led at the half but a run from Academy of Art in the second half changed the game and put the Urban Knights on top. The Red Storm tied it inside of six minutes but Academy of Art hit deep shots to thwart the comeback effort.

Academy of Art tried to make a run late in the second half with two consecutive triples but the Red Storm held off the push and took a 33-26 edge into the break. Mann had 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks at halftime.

An 11-0 run during the second half put Academy of Art back in front 47-36 with 11 minutes remaining. 

Dixie State continued to battle and tied it up a 54-54 with under six minutes to go. The Urban Knights responded however with a 10-3 edge to get back in control.

The Red Storm fought back again however to cut the lead down to 66-65 with a Leslie Tademy (Phoenix, AZ/South Mountain) made bucket with just over a minute to play.

Down three with six seconds left on the clock, a 3-point attempt from Miller fell short and the Urban Knights escaped with a 70-67 win over the Red Storm.

Dixie State now travels to Hawaii for three games, the first coming against Hilo on Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. MT.