SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Senior
Kate Peek led three Garnet Chargers in double figures with a game-high 20 points as the Union College women's basketball team outscored Ithaca College by 14 points in the second half to emerge with a 69-53 Liberty League victory on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
The win keeps Union (13-5, 9-2 Liberty League) in a tie for first place in the conference standings and completes the first season sweep of the Bombers since 2017-18, while defending champion Ithaca (7-11, 4-7 Liberty League) remains in a tie for seventh in the conference.
Peek played 39 minutes on the way to her second 20-point effort of the season, adding three rebounds and three steals while knocking down the 100th three-pointer of her collegiate career. Seniors
Jelena Perovic and
Grace Ceseretti chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively, with both players adding eight boards and Ceseretti also dishing out six assists. Sophomore
Olivia Cunningham hit only one field goal but still finished with nine points to go with six caroms and a game-high five steals as well.
Union hit three of its four shots of the game to jump out to an early 7-0 lead and never trailed for the entirety of the evening. The home team shot 5-of-8 from the field over the first 6:09 of the contest to build up a 17-5 lead after a Peek three-pointer, and regained its 12-point lead again after a Peek three-point play before an Ithaca basket to end the period.
A three by senior
Grace Ardito and a Ceseretti layup to start the second stanza built up the largest lead of the opening half at 25-12, but the Bombers responded with a 12-3 run to get back within four points at 28-24. The Garnet Chargers were outscored by a 9-7 margin the rest of the way to take a slim 35-33 edge into the half. Peek led all scorers with 13 points and Perovic added 11 to pace the home team in the first half, as Union shot 39.4 percent from the field after a hot start.
The shooting percentage was not there for Union in the second half, but the Garnet Chargers got to the free-throw line 24 times and limited Ithaca to 26.7 percent shooting to pull away with the win. The home team used an 11-3 run over a four-minute stretch in the third to open up a 51-43 lead after three periods. After Ithaca got back within six at 55-49 with 3:44 remaining in the game, Union closed the door with a 14-4 run to end the contest, hitting on its only field-goal attempt and sealing the game with 12-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe.
Despite shooting only 35.2 percent (19 of 54) from the field, Union went 24 of 28 (85.7 percent) from the free-throw line overall to account for the final margin, as the team's 24-8 edge at the line provided the 16-point difference. The home team also limited Ithaca to 35.1 percent (20 of 57) shooting from the field and a 5-of-22 mark from downtown.
Union will be back in action tomorrow with another key conference matchup against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute beginning at 2 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.
