JACKSON, Tenn. - The Union University women's basketball team posted a 104-76 win over the University of West Alabama Thursday night at Fred DeLay Gymnasium, David Blackstock Court. Union improved to 17-8 on the season and 12-5 in the Gulf South Conference. West Alabama dropped to 10-11 overall and 8-10 in league play.
Union remains in sole possession of second place in the league, four games behind its next opponent, UAH. Union and UAH play at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Fred. Union has a one-game lead over three teams (Lee, Trevecca, and Delta State) tied for third.
Tonight's game was an odd one for sure. Union led by 28 early in the second quarter. West Alabama cut the deficit to just five points in the third quarter. Union then pulled away, winning by 28 points. This also completes the regular season sweep of UWA with Union taking the earlier meeting in Livingston, 86-65.
Union hit 19 3-pointers in the game, which is the eighth most all-time for Union in a game. The record was 26 back in 2015 versus Stillman. The record for most since joining Division 2 was 24 versus Kentucky State in 2024.
Union scored 39 points in the first quarter, including a 17-0 run to start the game. The 39 points were just one point shy of the record for points in a quarter. Union has scored 40 points in a quarter three times, and now has also scored 39 points in a quarter three times. Union led 58-38 at the half, but not before West Alabama showed some life, pulling to within 14 points, 48-34, with 2:23 left. Union stopped the run, scoring 10 of the game's next 14 points to close out the half. An Aubrey Sorrells 3-pointer in the final minute gave Union the 20-point halftime lead.
Three Lady Bulldog players scored double figures in the first half. Olivia Lee had 12 points, while Maddie Gray and Courtney Zensen scored 11 apiece. The trio combined for seven of Union's 11 first-half 3-pointers. Union ranks No. 1 in NCAA D2 with 11.1 made 3-pointers per game. Union's largest lead of the game came early in the second quarter, 40-12.
In the third quarter, West Alabama came out strong, pushing Union and chipping away at the deficit. UWA outscored Union 15-3 over the first five minutes to pull to within eight points, 61-53. Union slowed the run, and the teams swapped baskets over the next few possessions. Then, with Union up 68-58, the Tigers scored five straight to pull to within five points, 68-63 with 2:48 left in the period. That was as close as UWA got, as Union extended its lead to 77-65 at the end of the quarter.
Then in the fourth, Union took over, outscoring the Tigers 15-5 over the first five minutes of the final quarter. That run started with a Zensen three-pointer and ended with a Zenzen layup, assisted by Lee. Zensen scored eight of those 15 points for Union. Sorrells and Abigail Bryan hit back-to-back 3-pointers sparked a 7-0 run that put Union at 100 points for the night. Union walked away with a 104-76 victory.
Union was led by Zensen with a career-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Bryan finished with 16 points, Lee with 14, Sorrells with 12, and Gray with 11. Union shot 48 percent from the field, 44 percent (19-43) from 3-point range, and 64 percent (9-14) from the free throw line.
West Alabama was led by Machen with 20 points and Watkins with 17. Nichols added a game-high 10 boards. The Tigers shot 53 percent from the field, 43 percent (6-14) from 3-point range, and 67 percent (6-9) from the free throw line.
-UNION-
