GENEVA, N.Y. – William Smith College outscored Union College 24-8 in the opening quarter and never looked back as the Herons defeated the Dutchwomen by a 73-53 score in a Liberty League matchup on Saturday afternoon at Bristol Gym.
Junior
Megan Lee scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Union (3-9, 1-5 Liberty League), followed by senior
Laura Vinton with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Junior
Olivia Pachla hauled in a team-leading eight rebounds as well for the visitors.
William Smith (4-8, 3-3 Liberty League) was led by Olivia Parisi with a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds, while Brooke Jarvis and Christina Mitrow added 15 points apiece and Lauren DeVaney picked up a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Herons started the game with seven straight points, but Union kept the deficit at seven for the next five minutes before the home team ran off 11 straight points in just over two minutes to take its largest lead of the frame at 24-6. A Lee jumper got Union back within 16 at 24-8 after 10 minutes, as the home team hit 9-of-15 shots to take the early lead.
The teams played mostly even in the second stanza, with both team hitting five field goals and William Smith slightly increasing its lead to 18. The Herons cooled off in the second quarter but still shot 50.0 percent (14 of 28) in the first half, while Union connected on 8-of-35 shots (22.8 percent).
Led by two buckets from Lee, the visitors used an 8-2 run early in the third quarter to get within 14 at 47-33, but William Smith came right back with a 14-0 run to take a 59-35 lead into the fourth frame. Union outscored their hosts 18-14 in the final frame, with seven different players recording at least two points.
Union took care of the ball on the day, conceding only six turnovers while forcing 18, which allowed the Dutchwomen to take 17 more shots than the Herons. But the visitors shot just 27.4 percent from the field (20 of 73) and 1-of-16 from beyond the arc, while the home team hit 44.6 percent (25 of 56) from the field and 7-of-18 from three-point land.
Union will continue its six-game road swing on Friday with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Bard College.
