SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Skidmore College shot 78.6 percent in the first period to put Union College behind early and the Garnet Chargers could never recover in suffering a 71-54 loss to the Thoroughbreds in a Liberty League women's basketball matchup on Tuesday evening at Williamson Sports Center.
The loss drops Union (12-5, 8-2 Liberty League) into a tie for first place in the conference standings with eight games remaining, heading into a key conference weekend against defending champion Ithaca College and fourth-place Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Senior
Grace Ardito tied for the game-high with 13 points to lead the visitors, and she was joined in double figures by classmate
Jelena Perovic with 10 points. Senior
Kate Peek added nine points and sophomore
Olivia Cunningham chipped in a team-best nine rebounds as well.
Skidmore (6-10, 4-5 Liberty League) stunned Union with a nearly perfect opening frame, hitting 11 of its first 13 shots to take a 27-10 lead after one period. Stella Criniti nearly matched Union's team total with eight points and Sophia Martinez added six for the home team. After a three by Ardito made the score 8-5 with 6:50 remaining, the Thoroughbreds outscored the Garnet Chargers 19-5 the rest of the way, as Union was done in by hot shooting as well as eight first-period turnovers.
The visitors made their biggest push midway through the third, with Ardito scoring six points as part of a 10-2 run that brought the lead down to 50-40 after a pair of free throws by first-year
Ryley Tate-Padian with 2:24 on the clock. Union then had five chances to get back within single digits on the next possession, but five straight shots did not fall and a 6-0 run spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth frames put Skidmore back up comfortably the rest of the way.
Union had one of its worst shooting games of the season, hitting at a 34.5 percent clip (20 of 58) from the field and 27.3 percent (6 of 22) from long range. Thanks to its red-hot start and 63.6 percent shooting in the final frame, Skidmore ended the night at an even 50.0 percent (26 of 52) from the field and 57.1 percent (8 of 14) from beyond the arc.
The Garnet Chargers will look to shake off the loss on Friday with a 5:30 p.m. matchup against Ithaca at Viniar Athletic Center.
