CANTON, N.Y. – Despite a game- and career-high 23 points from junior
Jelena Perovic, the Union College women's basketball came up short to St. Lawrence University in a 71-53 defeat in Liberty League action on Friday night at Burkman Gymnasium.
Perovic had a big night for Union (4-10, 3-4 Liberty League), hitting 10-of-17 shots from the field on the way to the top scoring game of her career, but she was only Garnet Charger in double figures. First-year
Davita Honig provided a spark off the bench with a season-high nine points in 19 minutes as well for the visitors.
St. Lawrence (5-7, 4-2 Liberty League) was led by Norah Niesz, who scored a team-best 12 points, and Elizabeth Flynn, who netted 11 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Saints started the contest by scoring 10 of the first 12 points, taking a 10-2 lead after a Hannah Van Dyke three 3:53 into the game. Four points from Perovic and a trey from senior
Maura Conan got the visitors back within range, and a pair of late threes by Honig made it a 18-15 game after 10 minutes. Honig and Perovic led the team with six points each in the opening frame.
Four points from Perovic and three from senior
Grace Enselek kept the Garnet Chargers within four points headed toward the midway point of the second stanza, but the Saints used an 11-2 run over the span of 4:42 to build up the largest lead of the half at 37-24. A late bucket by sophomore
Grace Arcoleo lessened the lead to 11 (37-26) at the break. The visitors took just eight shots (4-for-8) in the period, as four turnovers and a 3-of-8 effort from the line allowed SLU to make some breathing room.
St. Lawrence started the third frame with the first five points and outscored Union 15-7 in the period to take a 52-33 lead into the final quarter. The visitors put up the most points of any team in any quarter in the fourth, as Perovic netted 10 of Union's 20, but the deficit never fell below 16 in the final frame.
Union finished the game shooting 34.0 percent (18 of 53) from the field, while St. Lawrence ended up hitting 40.6 percent (26 of 64) from the floor and posted a 43-29 edge on the boards.
Union will finish off its North Country weekend tomorrow when the team makes the short drive to Potsdam to take on Clarkson University at 2 p.m.
