POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team allowed Clarkson University to get off to a hot start and the Garnet Chargers could never recover in dropping a 67-60 game on Friday night at Clarkson's Alumni Gym.
 
The loss is a tough one for Union (12-10, 9-6 Liberty League) in the race for postseason positioning, as the Garnet Chargers fall into a fourth-place tie with Skidmore College, still one game back of third-place Rochester Institute of Technology and one game ahead of sixth-place St. Lawrence University with three games remaining.
 
Junior Jelena Perovic went for a team-leading 20 points and eight rebounds on the night, including a stellar 10-of-10 effort from the charity stripe. Senior Jenna Forman added 16 points to go with eight caroms and three blocks as well for the visitors.
 
Raelin Burns led all scorers with 21 points for Clarkson (9-13, 5-10 Liberty League), followed by Bella Doyle with 17 points and a game-best 14 rebounds.
 
The defense was not there for Union in the opening 10 minutes, as the Golden Knights shot 8-of-16 from the field and hit 4-of-7 long-range attempts to take a 23-15 lead after one frame. After the teams traded points to start the evening, Clarkson went on a 13-4 run over the span of five minutes to open up a 17-8 advantage with 2:14 left. The teams went back to alternating baskets after that, as the home team went into the second with an eight-point edge.
 
Union outscored Clarkson by one point in the second stanza, but still went into the locker rooms down by seven. The Golden Knight lead ballooned to as many as 13 after scoring the first five points of the period, but a quick 7-0 run got Union back within two possessions at 28-22. The visitors lowered the deficit to five after a layup from Perovic with 3:51 left that made the score 36-31, and they eventually went into the half down 40-33 after a Forman layup. Forman had nine of Union's 18 points in the frame, while Burns led all scorers with 15 points for Clarkson in the opening half.
 
The visitors shot just 23.1 percent (3 of 13) in the third period, allowing Clarkson to outscore Union 13-9 and take a 53-42 lead into the fourth. The advantage grew to as many as 14 late in the period before a Forman three with 57 seconds left got the Garnet Chargers back within 11.
 
Union attempted to pull off a comeback in the final frame, using a 9-1 run to get back within four after a Perovic jumper with 4:28 left made the score 60-56. Perovic had six points and senior Emma Riley added a three during the run. The momentum did not last, however, as Cassidy Dumont hit a three on the next possession and the Garnet Chargers missed their final six shots of the night.
 
Union hit only three field goals in both the final two periods to finish the game shooting 35.8 percent (19 of 53) from the field, including a 4-of-23 effort from long range. Clarkson ended the evening shooting 39.3 percent (24 of 61) from the field, including seven three-pointers.
 
Union will look to rebound tomorrow at 1 p.m., when the Garnet Chargers take on St. Lawrence University in another key Liberty League matchup.