SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior Anna Metcalf led the Dutchwomen with her first career double-double, but it wasn't enough as Union College dropped a 66-56 contest to Ithaca College in Liberty League women's basketball action on Friday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
                                                    
Metcalf had a big game for Union (6-12, 4-8 Liberty League), hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field for a career-high 18 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds, while adding three steals and a block. Junior Megan Lee just missed a double-double as well, finishing with nine points and nine boards for the home team.
 
Ithaca (16-3, 11-1 Liberty League) was led by Grace Cannon, who scored a game-high 22 points, and Lindsey Albertelli, who just missed a double-double of her own with 10 points and nine caroms.
 
The Bombers started the game red-hot, hitting 11-of-15 shots in the opening 10 minutes. The visitors scored nine of the game's first 10 points to take the early edge and eventually built up a 13-3 lead with 5:31 left, and then used eight straight points to grab a 24-14 advantage after 10 minutes.
 
Union outscored Ithaca by one in the second stanza, with Metcalf (six) and junior Kendall Degenhardt (five) accounting for almost all of the home team's scoring. Union shot just 10-of-31 from the field in the first half, while the Bombers cooled off considerably in the second quarter to finish 16-of-29 in the half.
 
The Dutchwomen got back within a bucket late in the third quarter thanks to a 10-4 run, but the Bombers closed with eight unanswered points to take a 48-37 lead into the fourth. A 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter gave Ithaca its largest lead of the night at 58-39 but the Dutchwomen would not go away, clawing back into the game with a 10-0 run to make the score 60-51 with 3:35 left. First-year Emma Riley keyed the run with five points, while three from Lee and a bucket from junior Olivia Pachla helped as well. Union got within eight in the final minute, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
 
The home team shot well in the fourth frame, hitting 8-of-14 shots, but still finished the game at 36.1 percent (22 of 61) from the field and 1-of-12 from beyond the arc. Ithaca finished the evening at an even 50 percent (28 of 56) from the field.
 
Union will return to action tomorrow afternoon, as the Dutchwomen host Bard College in a Liberty League matchup beginning at 2 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.