SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team celebrated its four seniors and closed out the regular season with a 73-44 victory over William Smith College on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
All four seniors made contributions to the victory in their final game on the Viniar floor. Jenna Forman led the team with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds, while Emma Riley filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Claudia Porto chipped in six points and eight caroms, and Sophia Poplyk added three points and five boards. Junior Grace Ardito matched Forman for the game high with 14 points and sophomore Morgan Schultz chipped in a career-high 12 points as well for the home team.
 
With the win, Union (13-12, 10-8 Liberty League) will head into the postseason with some positive momentum. The Garnet Chargers finished the regular season in a tie for fifth place and will head to third-seeded Skidmore College for a Liberty League Tournament first-round game on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
 
The Union defense limited William Smith (3-22, 3-15 Liberty League) to just 26.7 percent (16 of 60) shooting on the night, while connecting at a 45.6 percent (31 of 68) clip at the other end of the floor. The Garnet Chargers also posted a 52-37 edge in rebounding and had 12 steals, led by four from junior Kate Peek.
 
With all four seniors on the floor, Union jumped out to a 17-2 run over the first six minutes of the game, led by nine points from Riley and four points and two assists from Forman. Despite the hot start, a pair of Amelia McCulley threes got the Herons back with single digits after one frame at 17-8. A 9-3 start to the second stanza pulled the visitors back within a possession at 20-17, but five straight points by first-year Olivia Cunningham started a 7-0 run that killed the momentum and allowed the home team to go into halftime with a 29-19 edge.
 
William Smith hung around for the first five minutes of the third period, trailing by only five after a pair of Molly Walsh freebies made the score 35-30. But the Garnet Chargers closed the door with a 13-0 run to the end the period, as Schultz led the way with six points to put Union up 48-30 after 30 minutes.
 
The home team finished off the game by shooting 56.3 percent (9 of 16) from the field in the final frame. An 18-2 run midway through the period ballooned the lead to a game-high 30 points after Schultz scored the last of her six straight points to put the Garnet Chargers up 69-39, and buckets by Cunningham and first-year Aiko Bastiaens helped finish off the win.
 
Check UnionAthletics.com early next week for a postseason preview, as the Garnet Chargers return to the playoffs for the fourth straight season.