CLARION— Union andCoudersport have been here before.

Many times, in fact.

That's why the first 12 minutes of Saturday's District 9 Class Agirls basketball championship game at Clarion University — featuring nine lead changes and three ties during that stretch — was expected.

And why the 18-0 Union run that followed — paving the way to a 67-55 Golden Damsel victory — was unexpected.

"That's just the way this team has always been,"Union coach Josh Meeker said. "They hit a couple of shots, the confidence level shoots way up and they get on a roll."

Union (26-3) defeated Coudersport for the district title last year as well. Coudersport handed Union a district championship loss in 2004. At least one of these two teams has played in the district title game every year since 1989.

When Jessica Wilson sank a lay-up with 3:47 left in the first half Saturday, the game was tied at 22 and fans braced themselves for a 32-minute war.

What they received was a hostile takeover, courtesy of the Damsels.

Tiffany Corle's lay-up gave Union the lead it never lost. Janele Divins followed with two free throws and a jumper. Corle stuck back an offensive rebound just before the buzzer and Union had a 30-22 halftime lead.

Mackenzie Shirey opened the second-half scoring with two free throws. Divins hit a baseline jumper. Denyelle Painter stuck back an offensive rebound, then canned a six-footer from the baseline. Torri Smith hit an eight-footer and Union had a 40-22 lead with 3:44 left in the period.

Game over.

Coudersport never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

"We began penetrating inside and either getting open lay-ups or kicking the ball back out,"Corle said. "And we were hitting everything."

Union sank 24 of 40 shots from the floor. Alicia Anthony contributed four 3-pointers.

"She can shoot it and they kept leaving her open,"Meeker said. "Do that and she's gonna knock 'em down."

Coudersport (25-2) suffered 11 of its 16 turnovers during the middle two quarters.

"We turned the ball over, didn't rebound, didn't hit our shots,"Falcons coach Brian Green said of the 18-0 run against his team. "Union hit its shots and rebounded the ball. They executed their offense very well against us.

"I don't think we played that badly. We just couldn't stop them."

Four Union players reached double figures. Corle had 18 points and five assists. Painter and Anthony had 12 points each while Divins scored 11. Shirey had six of 30 Damsel rebounds.

Before Saturday, Coudersport had not allowed an opponent more than 58 points all season. The Falcons' only loss all year was a 45-37 decision to Class AAABradford.

"We've been a balanced team this year,"Meeker said. "That's the difference between this year and last year. Beth (Koch) and Andrea (Mortimer) scored 31 and 23 points in this game last year.

"Winning a third straight district title is something these girls wanted to do badly this year. No Damsel team had ever won three in a row. They wanted that to be theirs."

Hope Morris, the lone senior on Coudersport's roster, scored 18 points. Kristy Kamper scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Wilson had 12 points and six boards.

Kamper and Wilson, both juniors, will likely eclipse the 1,000-point plateau next season.

"There's no shame in losing to Union by 12 points,"Green said. "They have eight seniors, we have one. A lot of our girls had never played on this floor before today. Our fans need to realize that."

The Damsels will carry a 20-game winning streak into the PIAATournament come Saturday.

"Our forwards came up big today and in this (district)tournament,"Corle said. "We returned the guards from last year and our guard play has been there.

"We're just getting better all-around now."

UNION 67Tiffany Corle 6-8 6-9 18, Meagan Booth 1-2 0-2 2, Torri Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Janele Divins 3-5 4-6 11, Mackenzie Shirey 1-3 4-6 6, Alicia Anthony 4-7 0-0 12, Corri Seybert 1-3 0-0 2, Denyelle Painter 6-7 0-2 12.

Totals: 24-40 14-25 67

COUDER SPORT 55Kelly McVay 1-3 0-0 2, Karli Duffee 1-7 3-5 6, Hope Morris 5-8 5-10 18, Jessica Wilson 5-8 2-7 12, Kristy Kamper 6-14 4-7 17, Kaya Bohn 0-1 0-1 0, Jordan Bright 0-4 0-0 0, Stephanie Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Tigan Chiumento 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 18-45 14-30 55

Union 16 14 15 22—67Coudersport 16 6 13 20—553-point goals: Divins, Anthony 4; Duffee, Morris 3, Kamper

Saturday: Union vs. Ferndale, PIAATournament, 3 p.m. at Clarion University