GENEVA, N.Y. – Sophomore Laura Vinton hit a clutch jumper with less than two seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, but William Smith College outscored Union College 16-5 in the extra session to escape with a 75-64 (OT) win over the Dutchwomen in Liberty League women's basketball action on Tuesday night at Bristol Gym.
 
The loss is a difficult for Union (8-10, 5-7 Liberty League) in the race for a conference tournament berth, as the Dutchwomen remain a game back of Rochester Institute of Technology in sixth place and now fall two games behind William Smith (11-8, 7-5 Liberty League) in fifth.
 
Sophomore Amber Raisner tied for the game high with 19 points to go with four assists and four rebounds before fouling out in overtime, while senior Elly Vaughan had Union's first double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 boards. Vinton also added eight points and seven rebounds as well for the visitors, who put forth an excellent effort despite playing without two of their top-of-the-rotation guards.
 
Annaliese Schreder scored seven of her team-leading 19 points in overtime to pace the Herons, while Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the home team.
 
Union forced overtime with an excellent fourth quarter, in which the Dutchwomen outscored the Herons by a 17-7 margin. Down 59-49 with 4:36 remaining, Union held William Smith scoreless the rest of the way, with Raisner scoring six points and classmate Anna Metcalf adding a bucket to get the visitors within two with 1:27 left. Union forced a pair of missed shots to get the ball back with 16 seconds left, and it found its way to Vinton in the waning seconds before a clutch jumper fell through to tie the game with 1.5 seconds left and force overtime.
 
Unfortunately for Union, that momentum did not carry over into the extra session, as Schrader hit a three on the opening possession and the Herons never trailed. Vaughan sank a jumper to get Union back within two at 63-61 with 3:02 left, but Stella Davis nailed a three on the next possession and the Dutchwomen managed just three free throws the rest of the way.
 
All game long Union found a way to hang with the Herons, climbing out of several large deficits. The visitors trailed 27-18 early in the second quarter before closing on a 15-6 run, led by 10 points from Raisner, three from Metcalf and two by freshman Sarah Zukowski. The deficit was eight in the third quarter before Union responded again with an 8-1 run that got the team back in the game, and then made one more run in the final frame to force overtime.
 
For the game, Union shot 37.7 percent (23 of 61) from the field while limiting William Smith to 40.0 percent (26 of 65) shooting. The Herons held a 45-34 edge on the glass, while Union forced 21 turnovers and turned them into 28 points at the other end.
 
Union will look to regroup this weekend with the final two home games of the regular season, beginning on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Skidmore College at Viniar Athletic Center.