RIMERSBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Natalie Bowser wasn’t feeling well.

She wasn’t alone. Several of her Keystone teammates also weren’t themselves on Monday night at Union.

It showed early as the Panthers struggled offensively against a stout Damsel defense.

Then Keystone broke out on an 8-0 run to end the half and followed that up with a 12-2 spurt in the third quarter to pull away from scrappy Union for a 39-17 win.

“We had some sickness going on today,” said Keystone coach Andy Traister. “We looked really slow compared to what we have been, but we got the win and we battled through it.”

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Bowser had her usual standout game for Keystone with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocked shots.

“That’s a pretty impressive game for how she was feeling,” Traister said.

But it took the Panthers’ 6-foot star a while to get going.

“I tried to give her little breaks, then she felt a little better after that,” Traister said. “We needed it.”

That’s because the first quarter was a slog.

Both teams got good looks at the basket, but shots were not falling as Keystone led just 3-2 after the first eight minutes.

“I thought the first team to 20 was going to win after that first quarter,” said Union coach Josh Meeker, grinning.

Cheyenne Dowling scored Union’s first eight points as the Damsels trailed 10-8 with 3:40 remaining in the second quarter.

That’s when things started to open up for Keystone.

Emma Gruber and Jill Winters each scored four points in the frame to help the Panthers find their footing.

Bowser scored six of her 14 points in the third quarter, and Keystone extended its lead to 30-12 by the fourth.

Traister expected a challenge from a Union team that has been steadily improving all season.

“Any time you play a team coach by Coach Meeker, they are going to be ready to play,” Traister said. “He has those girls playing hard and moving the ball real well and they are playing tough defense. I’m happy with just coming out of here with a win. Now we have to get healthy and get ready for C-L on Thursday.”

For Union, the progress is evident, even if the numbers on the scoreboard haven’t always reflected that.

Union was solid defensively throughout, even though Bowser was a big factor with eight of her rebounds coming on the offensive end.

The Damsels aren’t the only team to struggle at times against Bowser.

But Meeker was pleased with how his team played one of the best post players in District 9.

“I thought we play we played good defense on them, and yet they still made a good shot,” Meeker said. “I mean, one time we blocked one of Natalie’s shots and it still spun up in the air and went down. The girls were like, ‘What else can I do, for goodness sake?’”

“They’re a good team and they’ve gotten a lot better,” Meeker added. “I told Andy that their team has really improved. I was impressed with them competing like they did against Karns City (an overtime loss) and against Moniteau. I knew we were in for a pretty good battle here.”

The last time Union played Keystone, the Damsels lost by 11.

Meeker said, despite the score, his team played better in this matchup.

“I told the girls in the locker room after the game, ‘I know you’re not gonna believe this statement, but I thought we played them better tonight than we did the first time around,’” Meeker said. “We had some mental breakdowns a few times and that’s when they scored some easy layups and blew the lead out a little bit. The ball just wasn’t falling on our offensive end. We had some open looks.”

Dowling led Union with 12 points.

Ashlee Albright added five points off the bench for Keystone and Gruber, Mia Traister, Winters, Sydney Bell and Ava Patrick all scored four for the Panthers.

“The good thing is we battle,” Traister said. “We didn’t just quit when we weren’t feeling well. We just have to keep working and getting better and games like this game is only going to help us.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.