Union has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. After both having extra time off, the Union Rockets and the Shenandoah Raiders will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 6:00 p.m. on December 30th. Hopefully Union focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, Union had just enough and edged Christel House out 31-28. The win was just what Union needed coming off of a 58-32 loss in their prior game.
Union's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Glory Ellis led the charge by dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds. The matchup was Ellis' fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaitlynn Holderman, who scored six points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 11 more assists than your opponent, a fact Shenandoah proved two weeks ago. They claimed a resounding 50-23 win over Daleville at home.
Shenandoah got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Grace Lee out in front who scored ten points along with eight steals. Lee is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kim Farmer, who scored 15 points.
Union has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season. As for Shenandoah, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Saturday's matchup is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Union have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Shenandoah, though, as they've been averaging only 27.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Union was taken down by Shenandoah 54-26 in their previous matchup back in January. Can Union avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
