CANTON, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team came up just short to St. Lawrence University on Saturday afternoon at Berkman Gymnasium, falling by a 59-56 (OT) score in a Liberty League battle.
 
The loss drops Union (12-11, 9-7 Liberty League) into a tie for fifth place with St. Lawrence (15-8, 9-7 Liberty League), one game back of Rochester Institute of Technology and Skidmore College in a tie for the third spot. With two games remaining, Union could still finish anywhere from third to sixth based on next weekend's results.
 
Junior Jelena Perovic recorded a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Garnet Chargers, followed by junior Grace Ceseretti and first-year Olivia Cunningham with 13 points apiece.
 
Norah Niesz led St. Lawrence with 14 points, and Mason Baker-Schlendering added a double-double of 12 points and a game-best 13 boards. Jackie Malley had 12 points and Elizabeth Flynn grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds as well for the home team.
 
The game was not an offensive showcase for either side, with Union shooting 27.8 percent (22 of 79) from the field and limiting St. Lawrence to 27.0 percent (20 of 74) shooting. The visitors also hit only 1-of-13 attempts from long range, while the Saints hit four three-pointers and also scored four more points from the charity stripe to escape with the win.
 
The Saints started the game strong, outscoring Union 19-8 in the opening period. SLU used a 13-0 run to take the largest lead of the day at 19-6 before a jumper by junior Grace Ardito chipped away at the deficit by the end of the frame.
 
Union outscored St. Lawrence 9-7 in a low-scoring second stanza before the offense came alive in the third period, outscoring SLU 18-6 to take the lead. Down by seven at the midway point of the period, the Garnet Chargers hit five of their next seven shots to take a 12-2 run that grabbed the lead for the first time at 35-32 headed to the fourth.
 
After a Perovic layup to start the period, the Saints went on an 8-2 run to take back the lead before the advantage changed hands on the next three possessions. Ceseretti hit a layup to put the visitors up 47-44 with 3:03 left in regulation, but a jumper and free throw by Caelan McHarney tied the score with 33 seconds left. Union caught a break when McHarney missed the second freebie to keep the game tied, again when SLU could not convert after two offensive rebounds, and yet again with McHarney missed two more freebies to keep it a 47-47 game with 10 seconds left.
 
Union could not convert on its good fortune, however, turning the ball over with less than two seconds left and then missing a last-gasp three after SLU did likewise.
 
After three quick SLU points to start overtime, Ceseretti hit a three to tie the score and then four free throws from Ceseretti and Cunningham built up a 54-53 lead with less than a minute remaining. After the Saints went back up by a 56-54 score, Ceseretti again came up clutch with a jumper inside 10 seconds to again tie the game. However, Malley converted off a timeout with under two seconds left and hit the subsequent free throw to give SLU the win.
 
Union will look to end the regular season strong with two important games at home next weekend, beginning on Friday against RIT at 5:30 p.m.