Senior Lauren McCormick posted 36 points this past weekend on her way to joining the 1,000 point club.
This past weekend, Union’s women’s basketball team welcomed Clarkson and St. Lawrence for their final two games of the regular season. In the first game of the weekend, the Dutchwomen routed the Golden Knights 57-40 Friday night, but fell to the Saints the following afternoon in the season finale 53-43.
In the loss, senior star forward Lauren McCormick reached 1,000 points in her illustrious career.
With the split weekend and a loss by Skidmore on Friday night, Union clinched a spot in the Liberty League playoffs.
Friday night the Dutchwomen sported pink jerseys and shoelaces in honor of Think Pink Day, a nationwide WBCA Pink Zone event that raised over $400 in donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Perhaps inspired by the event, the Dutchwomen had one of their more dominating performances of the season, beating Clarkson by 17 points.
Seniors Lauren McCormick and Leah Pepe paced the team offensively. McCormick posted 16 points, and added eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal, while Pepe had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Clarkson got on the board first posting a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Battling back, Union was eventually able to tie the score at nine and then 11 apiece before taking their first lead with 9:14 left in the half.
The Dutchwomen took the lead off the strength of a three-point shot by freshman Amy Loya, who picked up eight rebounds in the game.
With the 14-11 lead the Dutchwomen never looked back.
At the end of the half the Dutchwomen had a 29-15 advantage. They pushed that lead to a 20-point, 55-35 lead before taking their starters out with 2:19 to play, eventually finishing the night with the 57-40 win.
Saturday’s regular season finale against the Saints marked Senior Day for the Dutchwomen, and prior to the game Union’s three senior tri-captains, Lauren McCormick, Lauren Hennessey, and Leah Pepe, were honored in front of a large crowd at the Viniar Athletic Center.
Adding to the importance of this game was the Liberty League playoff picture. Coming into the game the Dutchwomen were tied with St. Lawrence and William Smith atop the league standings.
Unfortunately for Union they came out flat in the first half. They had trouble finding any way to put the ball into the hoop, even missing some easy layups. Their struggles led to a 22-8 deficit with 6:24 remaining in the first half.
Rookies Brittney Kenney and Amy Loya combined with Hennessey and McCormick and tried to pull the Dutchwomen back into the game. They managed to cut the lead to 10 by halftime, and continued their comeback in the second half, coming within four points 6:04 into the half, thanks to three baskets by McCormick, and two points from junior Mary Donohue and sophomore Shayla Madden.
Unfortunately for the Dutchwomen this was the closest the game would get.
Senior Leah Pepe scored 20 points in her final weekend at home.
The only remaining positive in the game came from McCormick with 10:24 left in regulation. After Hannah Wilson fouled McCormick she went to the charity stripe with 998 career points. She coolly took the ball and proceeded to knock down both shots.
The crowd erupted as she became the 11th Dutchwomen to score 1,000 points in her career. The last Dutchwomen to join the club was Michelle Rogers ‘09, while Robin Romer ‘92 is Union’s all-time leading scorer with 1,738 points over her career.
McCormick’s two points brought Union within seven, but the Saints ran away for good thanks to flawless foul shooting from Erica Spera and two key steals that led to easy points on back-to-back Union possessions by Casey Capello.
McCormick led all scorers with 20 points going eight-for-thirteen from the field and four-for-six from the foul line. Pepe, who logged a game-high 37 minutes, finished second on the team with eight points, while Kenney led all players with 10 rebounds, which is a career-high.
With the win, the Saints secured the top-seed in the Liberty League playoffs while the Dutchwomen will settle for the third-seed.
This Friday Union travels to St. Lawrence to play in the Liberty League playoffs. They will play William Smith, who lost a tiebreaker with the Saints, at 6 p.m. Earlier this season the Dutchwomen topped the Herons 74-72 in overtime at William Smith, but fell 71-55 earlier this month in Schenectady. If Union wins, they will play in the championship game at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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