The game certainly lived up to the hype.

The Dutchwomen of Union held off a stellar second half rally by the RPI women’s basketball team to take the game 67-63. Union took with it the UCAA regular season crown and the right to host the conference tournament next weekend.

“This is a huge victory for this team, for these players and for this program,” said Union Head Coach Mary Ellen Burt. “The team played well throughout the year and came up with a big effort against a very good Rensselaer team. I could not be prouder of these women.”

The title bout was perfectly set up after both teams won their games on Friday evening. The Red Hawks, led by a 22-point effort by Kristen Kaczynski, convincingly defeated a mediocre Skidmore club 84-64 while Union routed last place Vassar 55-38.

Union led by the an impressive 37-22 margin at halftime, thanks in large part to a 40 percent shooting display and went 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc, compared to the Red Hawks’ dismal 25.9 percent performance.

Union was able to really dominate Rensselaer inside on offense and defense. The Red Hawks were out rebounded by the Dutchwomen 25-18 which allowed Union to get numerous good looks at the basket.

“Union is a very good and skilled team,” Rensselaer Head Coach John Greene said. “They went at us offensively. We started off in man, which is the heart and soul of our defense, and for whatever reason they were able to get inside, make some easy baskets or kick outside and they hit it.”

With Union controlling the game, Greene went into halftime knowing he had to make some adjustments to allow his team to have a chance at a win.

“Offensively we wanted to try and attack more up the wings and spread the floor more,” Greene said. “We looked to attack from where we wanted, we got some kick outs and we hit some shots.”

The second half saw a completely different Red Hawks team on the floor. Rensselaer came out and played with energy, the defense was active, and the players were determined. The Red Hawks opened the half with an 11-5 run getting the lead down to single digits. RPI switched from their bread and butter man-to-man defense and surprised Union with a 3-2 zone. The Red Hawks also varied a number of different full-court traps designed to keep Union from quickly getting into their offensive sets.

“That was the big thing defensively that we needed to do,” Greene said in reference to the change in defensive strategy. “We still mixed in some of our pressure, but we were using a lot more the 3-2 in the second half.”

With a motivated Red Hawk squad and with utter confusion on the Union side, the Dutchwomen began to go cold from the field.

Union shot a mere 29 percent from the field in the second half while the Red Hawks found the touch on their home court, shooting over 45 percent, and Rensselaer managed to get within one point, 43-42, at the 10:45 mark.

However, Rensselaer would never be able to grab hold of the lead as the Dutchwomen went on a 13-5 run over the next six minutes, capped by a Krystal Hammond three point play.

RPI refused to give up down the stretch. Kaczynski got three the old fashion way at the 1:37 mark and a lay-up by the star of the game, Alyssa Comis, closed the gap to 63-59.

Union failed to cave under the pressure, hit their free-throws down the stretch and walked away with a hard earned victory over an unwavering Rensselaer squad.

Caitlyn Vestal led all scorers in the game with 17 points while Comis and Jacqueline Ferrari added 15 and 13, respectively.

“She [Comis] did a good job of attacking and reading the defense,” Greene said. “We have talked to her about looking for her own offense more, and opportunities presented themselves today and she created some opportunities as well.”

Perhaps the most impressive feet by Union on Saturday was their ability to hold RPI’s two big scorers, Kaitlyn Saunders and Kaczynski to a combined 12 points.

“I don’t know what it was with Kaz and Kaitlyn and why they didn’t get the shots they normally get,” Greene said. “I will have to look at the tape and see if they were doing something defensively.”

Rensselaer will have to work hard and focus this week as they are set to face an excellent St. Lawrence team in the first round of the UCAA tournament at Union next weekend. RPI will probably see the same Union team in the UCAA championship game next weekend if they can beat the Saints.

“There is no way we can overlook St. Lawrence,” Greene said. “They are accustomed to winning the conference and we have to win that game Friday before we can even get to Saturday’s championship.”