SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Senior Megan Lee led four players in double figures as the Union College women's basketball team excelled on both ends of the court in a 69-51 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Liberty League action on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Lee had an excellent outing for Union (6-11, 4-7 Liberty League) leading all scorers with a season-high 19 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field and all five free-throw attempts to go with seven rebounds. Classmate Kendall Degenhardt celebrated her birthday with 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds, while first-year Jelena Perovic chipped in a season-high 12 points, six boards and two blocks in an efficient 15 minutes. Junior Kennedy Clark also reached double figures with 10 points, and senior Olivia Pachla had an excellent overall outing with seven points, seven caroms, five blocks and five steals as well.
 
Rensselaer (9-9, 6-5 Liberty League) was led by Lolo Reynolds with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Nicole DaPra with 10 points.
 
Rensselaer led for most of the opening frame, building up a 10-6 lead with 3:40 remaining. However, Union closed the frame on a 6-2 run to tie the score at 12 on a late bucket by Perovic.
 
Union then came out looking like a different team in the second stanza, scoring the first 14 points of the frame to take a 26-12 lead with 4:38 gone by in the period. The home team hit 6-of-7 shots from the field during the run, with Degenhardt leading the way with nine points. The led grew to 14 again later in the frame after a Perovic jumper and went into the half with a 33-21 advantage.
 
Degenhardt led all players with 11 points over the opening 20 minutes, as the Dutchwomen shot an even 50.0 percent (15 of 30) from the field and hit both of their three-point attempts. RPI, meanwhile, was limited to 8-of-31 shooting (25.8 percent) from the field in the first half.
 
The home team cooled off from the field in the third quarter, but still outscored the Engineers 15-12 to extend its lead to 48-33 after 30 minutes. Lee had 10 of Union's 15 points in the frame, as Union remained with a comfortable lead thanks to 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe.
 
Union continued its march to the free-throw line in the final frame, getting to the line 15 times and sinking 13 to finish off the victory. Perovic went a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe in the period, with Clark and Lee adding five points each to help clinch the big conference win.
 
For the game, Union hit 23-of-29 attempts (79.3 percent) from the free-throw line and 22-of-49 shots (44.9 percent) from the field, while limiting Rensselaer to just 27.7 percent (18 of 65) shooting. Thanks in large part to Lee, Union also had a decisive scoring edge in the paint by a 36-14 margin. 
 
Union will look to keep up the momentum tomorrow with a 2 p.m. matchup against Skidmore College.