SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College women's basketball team held #20/21 Ithaca College to its lowest scoring output of the season on Saturday afternoon, hanging with the Bombers for 40 minutes in a 50-39 loss in Liberty League action at Viniar Athletic Center.

Sophomore Emma Riley led Union (5-11, 3-7 Liberty League) in scoring for the second straight day, netting 10 of her team-high 13 points in the second half on 6-of-9 shooting. Senior Olivia Pachla led the team in the first half, scoring eight of her 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Hannah Polce led Ithaca (14-2, 9-0 Liberty League) with 18 points and Natalie Smith added 15 points for the Bombers, who remain unbeaten in conference play but had to battle for it.

Union clamped down defensively on the Bombers, holding the visitors to 33.3 percent shooting (18 of 54) from the field and a 3-of-17 mark from long range. Unfortunately, the home team was unable to fully capitalize on the other end, shooting 16 of 52 (30.8 percent) from the field and missing all eight long-range attempts.

Union jumped out to a 5-3 lead midway through the opening frame thanks to two buckets from Pachla, but Ithaca rattled off 10 straight points to take a 13-5 lead before Riley finished the period with a layup to get Union back within six after 10 minutes. Back-to-back jumpers by Pachla and classmate Kendall Degenhardt to start the second stanza lowered the deficit to two at 13-11, but the Bombers continued to retain their lead and closed the frame on a 7-0 run to take a 28-15 lead into halftime.

The home team struggled to find the basket in the first half, hitting only 5-of-24 shots (20.8 percent) from the field and turning the ball over 12 times. Pachla was the only Union player to have any sort of offensive rhythm, hitting 3-of-4 shots from the field on the way to eight first-half points.

Union again came out strong to begin the third period, scoring seven straight points to get back within six at 28-22. The teams traded baskets the rest of the frame, with Union on the wrong side of a 34-25 deficit headed into the fourth.

Seven was the number Union could not get past in the fourth frame, however, as the home team got within seven points on five different occasions, but could get no closer.

Union posted a 42-39 edge on the glass, led by a game-high eight boards from sophomore Claudia Porto, and also outscored Ithaca in the paint by a 28-20 margin.

Union will finish off their seven-game homestand with two more conference clashes next weekend, beginning with a Friday night battle against Capital Region rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 5:30 p.m.