TROY, N.Y. – Senior Nicole Conley's three-pointer with 2:27 left provided the final lead change of the night as the Union College women's basketball team gritted out a 53-50 win at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday night at the East Campus Arena.
 
The win secures a top-five seed for Union (15-7, 10-6 Liberty League) in the Liberty League standings and also keeps the Dutchwomen very much in the running for the fourth seed, as the team is now one game back of William Smith with two games left, including a Senior Day showdown against the Herons. RPI (11-12, 6-10 Liberty League) falls back into a tie for sixth place with the loss.
 
Three players scored in double figures for the Dutchwomen, led by senior Sophie Borg with a game-high 13 points to go with six rebounds. Freshman Amber Raisner chipped in 11 points off the bench and Conley added 10 points and five rebounds as well for the visitors.
 
The game was not a particularly pretty one for the Union, as the visitors hit just two of their final 12 shots over the final 14-plus minutes of the game. Despite the offensive struggles, the Dutchwomen pulled out the win thanks to two of its trademarks: excellent defense and clutch free-throw shooting. Union limited RPI to 4-of-18 shooting with eight turnovers over the final quarter and a half, while hitting 13-of-17 free throws at the other end to score just enough to win.
 
The Engineers went into the fourth quarter holding a 41-40 lead, thanks in large part to an 11-0 run midway through the third. After more than four minutes of scoreless action, Borg hit a pair of freebies to put Union on top before a Celia Tomlinson bucket gave RPI back the lead. With the home team leading 45-43 with 2:49 remaining, Conley hit Union's only field goal of the quarter, a huge three that provided the final lead change of the game at 46-45 with 2:27 on the clock.
 
From there it was a free-throw shooting contest for Union, as the team went 7-of-10 from the charity stripe the rest of the way. Borg led the way by connecting on 3-of-4 attempts, while freshman Darby Leid sunk a pair and both Raisner and junior Joana Santos added one each.
 
Union finished the game shooting 33.3 percent (17 of 51) from the field, but hit 16-of-22 free-throw attempts as well. The Dutchwomen also held a 14-6 edge in points off turnovers and a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Union will return to the Viniar Athletic Center for the final two games of the regular season this weekend, beginning with a matchup against Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday at 5 p.m.