ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team dominated in all aspects of the game on the way to a 75-40 victory over Bard College in a Liberty League matchup on Saturday afternoon at Stevenson Athletic Center.
 
Senior Kendall Degenhardt led three Union (7-13, 5-9 Liberty League) players in double figures with 12 points to go with a team-best four assists and two rebounds. Senior Olivia Pachla and sophomore Jenna Forman added 10 points and a team-best six rebounds each, leading 11 different Union players to get on the scoresheet.
 
Thalia Grandinetti and Shirley Dong were the top scorers for Bard (1-18, 0-14 Liberty League) on the day, scoring 15 points apiece.
 
In addition to shooting 48.4 percent (31 of 64) on the day, Union posted a decisive 45-23 edge on the glass and outscored Bard 46-8 in the paint. The visitors also made the most of Bard's mistakes, converting 20 turnovers into 28 points.
 
Union was consistent throughout the first two periods, shooting 8-of-16 in both frames to jump out to an early lead. After a three by Grandinetti on the first possession of the game, the visitors came back with the next 10 points, with a Degenhardt layup surrounded by two buckets from junior Claudia Porto and two from senior Megan Lee. After the Raptors got back within two at 12-10, Union closed on a 7-1 run to take a 19-11 lead after one frame.
 
Union continued their run by scoring 12 of the second stanza's first 15 points to open up the largest lead of the half at 31-14 after a layup by Forman. Two points from Pachla in the waning seconds gave Union a 35-21 lead after 20 minutes.
 
The team came out strong again to begin the second half, scoring the 10 of the first 12 points to help put the game away early. Degenhardt had two of the baskets for Union during the run, and then added the final bucket of the period to put the visitors up 49-31 after 30 minutes. The Garnet came close to matching their first half shooting percentage in the third, hitting 7-of-17 attempts (41.2 percent).
 
Union had its largest stretch of unanswered points early in the fourth, scoring 12 straight to take a 63-35 lead with 3:42 remaining. Senior Elizabeth Pica had four points and five teammates had at least one during the run. The points kept coming in the frame, with Union outscoring Bard by a 26-9 margin in the fourth to account for the final score. Forman had a team-leading eight points in the final 10 minutes, followed by six each from Pica and junior Maddy Mandalinci, as the visitors hit 8-of-15 shots from the field and also sunk 10-of-12 free-throw attempts.
 
Union has two crucial games on the slate next weekend as the team looks to make a final push for the postseason, beginning on Friday night with a 5:30 p.m. contest at William Smith College.