MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Union College women's basketball team dropped a 72-47 contest to Middlebury College in a non-conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at Pepin Gymnasium.
Senior
Jenna Forman and junior
Jelena Perovic scored a team-high eight points each on the afternoon, with Forman also adding a team-leading seven rebounds and two blocks. First-year
Olivia Cunningham chipped in six points and six boards as well for Union (2-2).
Senior
Claudia Porto opened the scoring 80 seconds into the game with a three-pointer and the Garnet Chargers led for a majority of the opening period, although the advantage for either side did not grow larger than one possession for the entire period. The visitors had their last lead at 13-11 after a Forman layup with 63 seconds left, before Middlebury scored the final four points of the period to take a 15-13 lead.
The Panthers outscored the Garnet Chargers 21-15 during a high-scoring second stanza. The home team's lead grew to as many as 12 with 2:26 remaining in the period, but Perovic scored four points as part of a 5-1 run to conclude the opening half. Perovic led the team with eight points over the opening 20 minutes, as Union shot 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from the field.
The visitors struggled to score over the final 20 minutes, shooting 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) the rest of the way to allow Middlebury to increase its advantage. The Panthers built up a 17-point edge with 2:54 left in the third period, but Union whittled the lead down to 12 late in the frame before a late Panther bucket made it a 55-41 score after 30 minutes. Middlebury then outscored Union by a 17-6 margin in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Union finished the afternoon shooting 29.3 percent (17 of 58) from the field and 1-of-10 from long range, although the team shot an impressive 12-of-13 from the charity stripe. Middlebury finished the day shooting 40.9 percent (27 of 66) from the field.
Union will be back in action next Saturday with a non-conference game at SUNY Cobleskill beginning at 1 p.m.
