AZUSA, Calif. – With everything that went well in the first half, it went just poorly in the final half.

Academy of Art rallied from a double figure deficit to post a 76-68 win against the Cougars on Saturday afternoon

"We did a lot of good things in the first half but, obviously, things to a turn for the worst," said head coach T.J. Hardeman. "I was disappointed in our energy at the start of the third quarter. We had an opportunity to really pull ahead and we had a letdown instead which set the tone for the last 20 minutes."

In the second half the Cougars made 10 of their 34 field goal attempts; and just one from behind the arc. They also had 12 turnovers in those final two quarters. Conversely Academy of Art hit nearly half of their 31 attempts while committing seven miscues.

Individually the Cougars had their first double-double of the season as Abigail Goodsell scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She also dished out a game high seven assists.

The duo of Rodericka Ware and Helena Orts were a wrecking crew for the Urban Knights as they scored 31 and 25 points respectively.

The Cougars opened the game with the lead and mostly held it throughout the first three quarters, aided by four made baskets from behind the arc. Academy of Art nailed a shot from behind half court at the stanza's final horn sounds making the home team's lead 21-18.

Academy of Art began the second frame by scoring nine of the first 13 points to take a 27-25 lead with 6:05 left until halftime. The Cougars defense took over as they held Academy of Art to just one made field goal the rest of the period. Azusa Pacific finished the final six-plus minutes on an 18-5 scoring spurt in taking an 11-point lead into the locker room.

During the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Urban Knight made a serious run at claiming the lead. Academy of Art scored 15 of the first 19 points to knot the score at 47-47. They would never take the lead as Azusa Pacific finished the final 4:24 of the quarter on a 9-5 run.

Academy of Art persistence paid off early in the last period when they took a 59-56 lead after a Robericka Ware three-pointer. They would never trail the rest of the game.

"We put ourselves in a tough position and we couldn't respond," Hardeman said. "Our execution wasn't strong and our defensive effort certainly needed to be better."

Azusa Pacific's next opportunity for redemptions comes on Monday night as they close a three-game home stand on Monday at 5:30 p.m. against Point Loma.