ONEONTA, N.Y. – After more than 620 days since its last game, the Union College women's basketball team finally got back on the court on Saturday evening, but the Dutchwomen struggled to put the ball in the basket in a 54-40 loss to Hartwick College at Lambros Arena.
 
Playing for the first time under new coach Katie Marcella, first-year Riley Rottkamp led Union (0-1) in scoring in her collegiate debut, scoring nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Senior Amber Raisner chipped in a solid all-around effort, scoring seven points and leading the team with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Raisner scored Union's first points of the season on a three-pointer 1:10 into the contest to give the Dutchwomen their first lead of the game, the first of four lead changes in the opening quarter. Leading 9-8 after a layup by junior Sarah Zukowski, Union saw Hartwick go on a 7-1 to take a 15-10 lead before Zukowski hit a jumper to get back within three at the end of 15 minutes.
 
Rottkamp sunk back-to-back three-pointers to even the score at 23 midway through the second stanza, and another Rottkamp trey knotted the score again at 27 before Hartwick sunk a free throw to take a slight 28-27 lead into halftime. The Hawks shot 54.2 percent (13 of 24) from the field in the opening half, while Union shot better from beyond the arc (5-of-11) than inside it (5-of-16).
 
The game swung completely in the third quarter, when Hartwick outscored Union 21-9 to take control of the contest. The home team started the frame with a 9-2 run to build up an eight-point lead with 6:01 left and then, after six straight Union points whittled the lead back down to two, closed with a 12-1 run to take a 49-36 lead into the fourth.
 
Neither team could find the basket easily in the fourth frame, as the squads combined for just nine points. The Dutchwomen hit only 1-of-11 shots from the field and also missed 5-of-6 free throws in the final stanza. Hartwick was no better, shooting 2-for-10 from the field and 1-for-4 from the line, but the Hawks had built up enough of a lead to take the victory.
 
Union finished the night shooting 14-of-51 (27.5 percent) from the field, while Hartwick finished at 47.9 percent (23 of 48).
 
Union will play its first game of the year on its home court next Tuesday, November 16, when the Dutchwomen host Middlebury College at 6 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.