SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior
Grace Ardito went off for a career-high 28 points and also tied for the team high with eight rebounds to lead the top-seeded Union College women's basketball team into the Liberty League Championship game for the first time since 2009 with a 79-68 win over fourth-seeded St. Lawrence University in the conference semifinals on Friday night at a raucous Viniar Athletic Center.
Ardito had a massive game for Union (21-5), hitting a career-high 12 field goals and four three-pointers for the best scoring night of her career. Three teammates also scored in double figures in a well-rounded team effort: senior
Jelena Perovic went for 15 points and five boards, sophomore
Olivia Cunningham netted 12 points to go with eight caroms, and first-year
Ryley Tate-Padian added 10 points with eight boards.
As a team, Union shot 46.3 percent (31 of 67) from the field and held a huge 45-30 edge on the boards, as the home team never trailed on the way to the title game.
The first quarter was an offensive explosion for both teams, as Union shot a sizzling 72.2 percent (13 of 18) from the field and 6-of-9 from long range to take a 32-23 lead after 15 minutes. After trading points in the first two minutes, a Perovic three (her first of the season) put Union up 7-4 and the home team never lost the lead after that. Cunningham's jumper with 2:46 to go capped a 14-4 run and gave Union its first double-digit edge at 23-12, and back-to-back threes from Tate-Padian in the final 61 seconds stopped a SLU run and put the Garnet Chargers up nine after one.
St. Lawrence (17-10) got back within a possession early in the second stanza, but a Perovic jumper and Ardito three quickly bumped the lead back up to eight. The home team was content to essentially go basket-for-basket for much of the period, as Union went into halftime with a 48-37 advantage.
The Garnet Chargers started the third quarter with a 13-4 run to open up the largest lead of the game at 61-41 after an Ardito layup with 5:44 on the clock. The Saints doubled up Union 16-8 the rest of the way, however, to make it an eight-point game (69-57) headed to the fourth.
Neither team shot the ball well in the final frame, as Union hit at 16.7 percent (2 of 12) and St. Lawrence was even worse at 13.3 percent (2 of 15) from the field. After SLU scored four straight points to start the period, the teams went nearly six minutes without a field goal as the home team clung to a 73-66 advantage. Ardito ended the drought with a big three and Perovic followed with a driving layup to bump the lead up to 12 at 78-66 with 2:27 to go, and Union was able to coast the rest of the way.
Winners of nine in a row, Union will look to complete its run through the conference on Sunday, when the Garnet Chargers host second-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology in the Liberty League championship game beginning at 2 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.
