RIMERSBURG — No. 6 Union shut down No. 11 Port Allegany’s offense in the third quarter to complete a comeback and beat the Lady Gators, 49-31, in the first round of the District 9 Class A girls basketball playoffs.

Port started out hot, with Kayleigha Dowell hitting two triples in the first quarter while Evin Stauffer and Leigha Nelson hit one trey each. But Union kept pace, as Dominkia Logue and Hailey Kriebel scored four each.

“We started out real strong, had the lead at the end of the first quarter and at halftime,” Port coach Jamie Evens said. “We just kind of wore out — shots stopped falling, and we’re young and not very deep, so that ended up impacting us in the end.”

Neither team scored much in the second, with Union outsourcing Port 7-6 in the period to narrow the deficit to just one at halftime.

In the third quarter, Kennedy Vogle and Logue combined for 11 points as Union built itself a seven point lead. They held the Lady Gators to just 10 points in the second half.

“Logue is an outstanding player and a tough matchup for us,” Evens said. “We struggled to stop her. We did a pretty good job of denying her the ball, but once she got it, we had a hard time stopping her from getting a shot up. Their team runs through her, and in the second half, she really dominated.”

At the same time, Union made the most of its trips to the free throw line, going 6-for-7 from the stripe in the final period.

Port didn’t go down quietly, Ella Moses finished with nine boards and seven rebounds while Dowell had 11 points, five boards and three steals. But Logue’s clutch triple in the fourth to cap off her 14 points, gave Union the win.

“The experience is key,” Evens said. “That’s why it was so important for us this year to take advantage of opportunities for wins when we could and get into the playoffs. To get those girls on the court and get that experience, and to face that crowd and come out the way we did, is an experience we’ll build on next year and for years to come.”

Union advances to play No. 3 seed Otto-Eldred in Duke Center.

Dowell 4 0-0 11, Moses 2 3-4 7, Stauffer 2 1-3 7, Nelson 2 1-2 6. Totals:

Union (49)Logue 6 1-2 14, Croyle 5 2-4 12, Vogle 4 0-0 10, Kriebel 2 5-6 9, Theuret 1 0-0 2, Gruver 1 0-0 2. Totals:

Three-point goals: Port 6 (Dowell 3, Stauffer 2, Nelson), Union 3 (Vogle 2, Logue); Total fouls: Port 11, Union 12; fouled out: None