ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Union College outscored Bard College 11-2 in the pivotal second quarter as the Dutchwomen broke open a close game and cruised to a 66-42 victory in Liberty League women's basketball action on Friday night at Stevenson Athletic Center.
 
Junior Megan Lee filled up the stat sheet to lead Union (4-9, 2-5 Liberty League) to a crucial conference victory, pacing the team with 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Classmate Olivia Pachla also recorded 10 points and added six rebounds and two blocks, while senior Anna Metcalf and sophomore Kennedy Clark just missed double figures with nine points apiece.
 
Caroline Kiser led Bard (1-10, 0-6 Liberty League) with a game-high 27 points, but 16 of those points came in the second half after Union had already jumped out to a comfortable advantage.
 
Kiser scored her team's first six points as the Raptors jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but the visitors responded with a quick 7-2 run to take a 10-8 lead on a layup by senior Kendall Degenhardt. The teams traded the lead multiple times before a late Lee layup put the Dutchwomen up 17-15 after one quarter.
 
Union then took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring Bard 11-2 and limiting the Raptors to 1-of-8 shooting. The visitors kept the home team off the scoreboard for more than nine minutes, scoring the first 11 points to take a 28-15 lead before a last-minute bucket. Metcalf led the Dutchwomen with five points in the frame, with Degenhardt and classmates Laura Vinton and Darby Leid adding two points each.
 
Union did not shoot particularly well in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 11-of-40 (27.5 percent) attempts, but the visitors limited Bard to 23.8 percent (5 of 21) shooting and forced 10 turnovers to take an 11-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Dutchwomen came out of the break with their best shooting quarter of the night, hitting 8-of-17 shots to outscore Bard by eight and take a 48-29 lead into the fourth. Union hit four of its first five shots to start the period with nine straight points and kept going from there while limiting Bard to 4-of-13 shooting at the other end.
 
The Union lead grew to as many as 29 on two occasions in the final frame, coming when junior Elizabeth Pica hit a free throw to make the score 64-35 and then again after a Pica hook shot that put the visitors up 66-37 with under 1:30 to go.
 
The Dutchwomen finished the game shooting 34.7 percent (26 of 75) from the field and held Bard to 14-of-45 shooting (31.3 percent). Union dominated in the paint with a 52-39 edge in rebounds, including 25 offensive boards, and scored 36 points in the paint to Bard's 16 while adding 15 second-chance points.
 
Union will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Ithaca College.