SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – After a two-year absence, the Union College women's basketball team is back in the Liberty League Tournament. The fifth-seeded Dutchwomen will head onto the road to take on fourth-seeded William Smith College in a first-round matchup on Tuesday, February 19 at 6 p.m. in Geneva.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: For those who can't make it to Geneva for the game, William Smith will be providing live stats and live video. Fans can also follow Union Athletics on Twitter and Instagram for coverage before, during and after the game.
 
AGAINST THE HERONS: Union swept William Smith in the regular season, bookending the Liberty League schedule with a 67-56 win in Geneva back in November before a 67-61 victory on Saturday in Schenectady. On Saturday, seniors Sophie Borg (14 pts, 12 rbs) and Nicole Conley (19 pts, 11 rbs) both recorded double-doubles in their final collegiate home game, while freshman Amber Raisner added 18 points off the bench. Union is 20-14 against William Smith since 2003-04, including seven wins in the last 10 outings.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its first conference tournament appearance since 2015-16, when the Dutchwomen lost to Rochester Institute of Technology in the semifinals. The team has lost its last six Liberty League Tournament games since a semifinal win over Skidmore College in 2008-09, and is 1-9 since capturing the program's only title in the final year of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now Liberty League) in 2004.
 
DEFENSE FIRST: Union entered the weekend ranked ninth in Division III in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 31.9 percent shooting from the field, while the team's 50.0 points per game allowed was the 16th-best average in the country. The Dutchwomen still lead the Liberty League by averaging 51.3 points per game allowed and hold opponents to 32.5 percent shooting from the field and 25.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

BLOCK PARTY: Senior Nicole Conley led D-III in blocks per game for much of the season and entered the weekend ranked 11th in the country with 2.8 blocks per game. As a team, the Dutchwomen also ranked 12th nationally in blocks per game (5.8), led by Conley's 67 and 33 by junior Elly Vaughan.
 
FIRST-YEAR FORCE: Union has four freshmen that average at least 12 minutes per game, including three that play over 21 minutes per night. Amber Raisner ranks third on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg) and leads the team with 49 assists, while Laura Vinton's .525 field-goal percentage is tops on the team. Classmates Darby Leid (4.4 ppg, 41 assists) and Anna Metcalf (4.0 ppg, 38 assists) also have seen plenty of playing this season as first-year players.
  
PUT IT IN THE BOOKS (SEASON): Conley enters the postseason second all-time at Union in single-season blocks (67), while also ranking fifth in free-throw percentage (.824) and 13th in points (353).
 
PUT IT IN THE BOOKS (CAREER): Borg enters the week fifth in school history in career field-goal percentage (.484), while Conley currently ranks second in career blocks (171), eighth in three-pointers (91) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.744).
 
ABOUT THE HERONS: William Smith leads all Liberty League teams by averaging 69.2 points and 48.5 rebounds per game this season, and had won six straight games before falling to Union in Saturday's regular-season finale. Senior Mia Morrison moved into second place all-time in scoring at William Smith on Saturday with 1,526 points and ranks second in the Liberty League in scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg) and sixth in field-goal percentage (.443). Classmate Olivia Hughes ranks fifth in the conference in blocks (1.2 bpg) as well, while sophomore Stavriana Dimatrakapoulou sits second on the team by averaging 11.2 ppg.
 
The complete postseason schedule is below:
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 – First round
#5 Union at #4 William Smith – 6:00 p.m.
#6 Skidmore at #3 Vassar – 6:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, February 23, 2019 – Semifinals at Ithaca College
#4 William Smith/#5 Union at #1 Ithaca – 12:00 p.m.
#3 Vassar/#6 Skidmore vs. #2 RIT – 2:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, February 24, 2019 – Finals at Ithaca College
Semifinal Winners – 12:00 p.m.