UTICA, N.Y. – Sophomore Grace Ardito scored a team-leading and career-high 17 points to lead 11 different scorers as the Union College women's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season with a 78-70 win over Utica University in non-conference action at the Clark Athletic Center on Monday night.
 
Ardito had a big game off the bench for Union (1-2), pouring in 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting (4-of-6 from beyond the arc) in just 12 minutes of action. Sophomore Jelena Perovic added 14 points and five rebounds, and first-year Morgan Schultz also reached double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Junior Jenna Forman added a game-high 12 rebounds as well for the visitors.
 
Vanessa Hall led all scorers with 26 points and McKenzie Simmons added 12 points for Utica (0-3).
 
Led by Forman's 12 caroms, Union was dominant on the glass in the victory, outrebounding Utica by a 46-25 margin. Union shot 44.4 percent (24 of 54) from the field and also hit 21-of-26 attempts from the charity stripe, which helped to counteract 30 turnovers and 44 free-throw attempts by the home team.
 
The Garnet Chargers won each of the first three periods on Wednesday, which allowed them to withstand a furious Utica comeback attempt in the final frame.
 
After spotting the Pioneers the first four points of the game, a three by first-year Casey Weeren and a Schultz layup put the visitors in the lead and Union never trailed from there. Another Schultz bucket and a three from classmate Talia Weinstock finished a 10-0 run with 3:53 to go in the first frame, and the lead grew to as many as eight before settling on an 18-14 edge after 10 minutes. Although the lead never grew larger than seven in the second stanza, Union battled hard on the defensive end and never allowed the Pioneers to score more than two consecutive baskets in taking a 33-27 lead into the locker rooms.
 
The offense kicked back into gear in the third period, with Union outscoring Utica by a 24-14 margin to finally create some separation. A three by sophomore Grace Arcoleo gave the visitors their first double-digit lead of the game at 40-30. The lead was seven at 45-38 with 4:12 left before the Garnet Chargers closed the frame on a 12-3 run, getting eight points by Ardito and two each from Forman and senior Maddy Mandalinci to take a 57-41 lead into the fourth.
 
The run continued with the first seven points of the final frame, ballooning the lead up to 23 after a Perovic jumper put the score at 64-41 with 7:21 remaining. The visitors looked to be in good shape up 70-51 with 4:33 on the clock, but 14 straight points for the home team suddenly made it a 70-65 game with 1:43 remaining. However, Union regained its footing and sunk 8-of-10 shots from the free-throw line in the final 68 seconds to secure the win.
 
Union will take some time off for finals and Thanksgiving Break before returning to action on Monday, November 27 with a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Middlebury College at Viniar Athletic Center.