Leading Union 21-16 with 3:09 remaining Saturday morning during the third-place game of the Hermann JV Girls Basketball Tournament, Ashley Aaron’s JV Lady Bearcats put themselves in good position to keep one piece of hardware in town.

Union’s Kylie King hit two 3-point shots in the final :55 of the game denying Hermann third-place hardware from their home tournament by a final score of 26-22.

Trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, two Marley Busch free throws averted a first-quarter shutout by Union leaving Hermann down 7-2 after seven minutes of basketball.

A Hallie Kallmeyer 3-pointer cut Union’s lead to 9-5 at the 4:50 mark of the second quarter before a barrage of missed free throws led Hermann facing a 15-9 halftime deficit.

Kallmeyer led Hermann with five first-half points.

Accounting for Hermann’s two third-quarter points, Kallmeyer helped the JV Lady Bearcats get within five of Union at 16-11 entering the fourth quarter.

That was when the JV Lady Bearcats caught fire from the field.

A Kallmeyer 3-pointer and a Madyson Yates bucket tied the game at 16-16 with 4:10 remaining.

Two Hannah Epple free throws gave Hermann their first lead of the game at 18-16 with 3:45 left in regulation.

After a Yates 3-point play with 3:09 left put the JV Lady Bearcats in front 21-16, Hermann saw Union end the game on a 10-1 run.

Kallmeyer led Hermann with 10 points while Yates added six points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Epple added four points and nine rebounds.

Alison Thwing led Union with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Last Thursday against the St. Louis Blue Knights, Hermann trailed 29-15 at halftime but could not get any closer before falling 50-26 and being sent to the third-place game.

Grace Engemann and Yates led the JV Lady Bearcats against the Blue Knights with six points apiece.

Kallmeyer added five points followed by three markers apiece from Katie Krueger and Epple.

Carlie Walkenbach added two second-quarter free throws for two points while Busch hit a third-quarter free throw for one point.

Opening-round action last Tuesday against Fulton saw Hermann turn a 17-12 halftime lead into a 32-17 victory over the JV Lady Hornets.

Epple led the JV Lady Bearcats with nine points and three steals while Yates added five points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and a steal.

Erika Schutt finished with four points, seven rebounds and four steals while Krueger and Kallmeyer added three points each.

Myiah Barrett, Engemann and Busch each added two points for Hermann against Fulton.