SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior Jelena Perovic and sophomore Olivia Cunningham both recorded double-doubles to lead the Union College women's basketball team to a 64-61 win over Russell Sage College in non-conference action on Wednesday evening at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Perovic scored a team-leading 23 points, helped by an 11-for-13 effort from the charity stripe, and also added 13 rebounds and four blocks for Union (2-0). Cunningham went for 18 points and hauled in a career-best 16 boards while also dishing out a team-best three assists.
 
Layla Acosta scored a game-high 26 points and Kyla Smith added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Russell Sage (1-1).
 
Union struggled to score over the first 20 minutes of the contest, shooting 25.0 percent (8 of 32) from the field and 0-for-10 from long range in the first and second periods; however, the team managed to stay in the game thanks to 10-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line. The Gators scored the first eight points of the game, but Union followed with a 10-1 run to take a 10-9 lead with 3:21 left on a bucket by first-year Ryley Tate-Padian. Sage had the last run of the period, scorinh seven of the last nine points to take a 16-12 lead after one frame. The visitors maintained its lead for the entirety of the second stanza, building its lead up to as many as 11 at 32-21 with 2:25 to go in the period before taking a 33-26 edge into halftime.
 
Union turned the tide by outscoring Sage 19-9 in the crucial third period, as the home team shot 47.1 percent (8 of 17) from the field and held the visitors to 4-of-20 (20.0 percent) shooting. With Sage still holding a 42-38 lead with 3:23 on the clock, Union closed the period with seven straight points, including five from senior Kate Peek and two from Perovic, to take a 45-42 lead into the fourth frame.
 
Despite hitting 4-of-15 shots from the field in the fourth, Union got to the line 14 times and made 11 to escape with the win. Perovic hit a jumper at the midway point of the period to put Union back on top for good at 51-50 and Cunningham took over from there, scoring the team's next 10 points to build up a 61-55 advantage with 1:14 remaining. The sophomore followed with a key block in the final 30 seconds to protect a three-point lead and free throws by Perovic and senior Grace Ardito helped to seal the win from there.
 
Union got to the line 33 times and made 23 (69.7 percent) on the night, helping to counteract a 31.3 percent (20 of 64) effort from the field and a 1-of-16 mark from long range. The defense also blocked nine shots and limited Russell Sage to 29.7 percent (22 of 74) shooting to pull out the win, while the Garnet Chargers outscored the Gators by a 38-16 margin in the paint and had 10 second-chance points.
 
After taking some time off for finals, Union will return to the court on Saturday, November 22 as the team continues its five-game homestand against Middlebury College beginning at 1 p.m.