SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team fell behind early and never recovered as the Dutchwomen dropped a 71-38 contest to Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday night at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
The loss, combined with William Smith College's win at Vassar College tonight, locks Union (15-8, 10-7 Liberty League) into the fifth seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament next week. RIT (18-6, 13-4 Liberty League) clinches no worse than third place with the win and remains in the hunt for a first-round bye.
 
Freshman Amber Raisner was a bright spot for the Dutchwomen in the loss, netting a team-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Senior Sophie Borg added nine points and a game-high seven rebounds as well.
 
The first half was not a pretty one for the Dutchwomen, who turned the ball over 15 times and saw RIT shoot a red-hot 61.3 percent (19 of 31) from the field. The Tigers scored the first 14 points of the game before a layup by Borg got Union on the board 3:33 into the contest. Raisner scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including three shots from beyond the arc, in the half; however, the rest of the team hit only 5-of-21 shots from the field over the first 20 minutes.
 
For the game, Union shot just 29.8 percent (17 of 57) from the field while turning the ball over 20 times. RIT, meanwhile, shot 50.0 percent (30 of 60) in scoring the most points by a Union opponent this season, led by an impressive 27-point effort from Tara Lynch and 19 points from Sabrina Wolfe.
 
Union will close out the regular season tomorrow with a postseason preview against William Smith College, as the Dutchwomen celebrate their seniors with Senior Day before hosting the Herons at 2 p.m. at the Viniar Athletic Center.