SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College women's basketball team outscored William Smith by a 25-2 margin in a game-changing third period to pull away from a pesky Herons squad and pick up a 70-52 victory on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
The fourth straight victory moves Union to 16-5 overall and 12-2 in Liberty League play, tying for the second-best conference record after 14 games in program history. With four conference games remaining, Union remains tied atop the Liberty League with Rochester Institute of Technology, two games clear of third place and holding the tiebreaker with the Tigers.
 
Senior Kate Peek led a balanced scoring effort for Union with 13 points, followed by classmate Jelena Perovic with 11 points and sophomore Olivia Cunningham with 10 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds and four blocks. Fellow seniors Grace Ardito (seven points, five rebounds) and Grace Ceseretti (three points, four assists) also played a key role on Senior Day, while injured classmate Grace Arcoleo saw her first action of the season as well in the final seconds.
 
Both teams shot under 36.0 percent from the field in the opening half, but William Smith hit 6-of-16 shots from long range while Union went 1-of-9 from distance as the Herons took a two-point lead into the locker rooms.
 
The Herons shot well to start the afternoon, hitting four of their first six shots to take an 11-6 lead with three minutes gone by in the first period. Union clamped down defensively and limited the visitors to 1-of-10 shooting the rest of the way, but the home team managed only 3-of-14 shooting at the other end to still trail by a point (13-12) after 10 minutes. 
 
After scoring the final four points of the first, Union started the second stanza on a 9-1 run - led by five points from junior Morgan Schultz - to take its largest lead of the half at 21-14 with 7:21 on the clock. However, the shooting tides turned once again after that, with the Garnet Chargers hitting one field goal over the next seven minutes before a three from senior Kate Peek got Union within a basket at 30-28 at the half.
 
The momentum swung back irrevocably in the third period, which saw Union shoot 52.9 percent (9 of 17) and limit William Smith to 6.3 percent (1-of-16) shooting with nine turnovers in a decisive 25-2 frame. Buckets by Peek, Ardito and Perovic started the period to put Union back in front until the Herons scored their only basket of the period to get back within two at 34-32. After that it was 19 straight points for the home team, led by sophomore Aiko Bastiaens with five points and Cunningham with four.
 
Seven different players scored for Union in the fourth period to close out the contest, as the Garnet Chargers cruised the rest of the way.
 
Union shot 40.0 percent (26 of 65) for the game and held a third straight opponent to 30.0 percent shooting or less, with the Herons finishing at 20 of 67 (29.9 percent).
 
Union will play its final four games of the regular season on the road, starting with a matchup at Vassar College on Friday at 5:30 p.m.