SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team came up just short in pursuit of a season sweep of Vassar College, falling by a 66-63 (OT) score on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
The loss keeps Union (12-9, 9-5 Liberty League) in fourth place in the Liberty League with four games remaining, sitting 1.5 games back of Rochester Institute of Technology in third place and now just one game ahead of St. Lawrence University and Skidmore College. Vassar (16-5, 13-2 Liberty League) remains a half-game back of first-place Ithaca College with the win.
 
Junior Jelena Perovic led Union with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting before fouling out late in regulation. Senior Jenna Forman added 13 points, seven caroms and three blocks, while first-year Olivia Cunningham chipped in 10 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench and junior Kate Peek added eight points and a team-high eight boards.
 
Tova Gelb led all players with 26 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Julia Harvey with 20 points and Sierra McDermed with 15. The trio combined for 61 of the team's 66 points on the afternoon.
 
Gelb took control for the Brewers in extra time, scoring eight of the team's 10 points. She started the frame with six points as the visitors jumped out to a 62-57 lead with 1:48 elapsed in the period, and a pair of Harvey free throws made it a 64-58 advantage with 2:26 left. A three by Peek brought some life back into the Garnet Chargers but Gelb right back with a bucket to put Vassar up 66-61 with 1:32 on the clock. A layup by junior Grace Ceseretti with 32 seconds left made it a one-possession game and Vassar gave Union a chance by taking a shot with 10 seconds left, but the home team could only manage a last-gasp three by Forman that fell short at the buzzer.
 
The first 20 minutes were a defensive battle, with both teams shooting around 40 percent from the field and grinding out possession after possession. Three buckets from Perovic helped the Garnet Chargers jump out to an early 8-2 lead, and the Union advantage was still six at 10-4 before Vassar closed the opening frame on a 12-2 run to take a 16-12 edge after one period.
 
Five straight points by Gelb bumped the Brewer lead to nine to start the second stanza and the Brewers still led by that amount before it was Union's time to rattle off a 12-2 run to get within a possession at the half. First-year Olivia Cunningham hit three straight baskets and junior Grace Arcoleo added two during the run, which helped put the score at 27-26 in favor of the Brewers at the break. 

Union hit six of its first eight shots to start the third period to open up the largest lead of the game for either side at 41-31. However, the home team went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball over five times over the next 3:21 to allow Vassar to score 11 straight points and eventually take a 45-44 lead into the fourth.
 
The teams remained within one possession of one another for the entirety of the fourth period. Cunningham gave Union its last lead of the game at 56-54 after a layup with 1:13 on the clock, but a McDermed basket the score with 49 seconds left. Union had two chances to take back the lead but could not get a shot off, resulting in the game heading to overtime.
 
Union limited the Brewers to 35.9 percent (23 of 64) shooting and shot 41.7 percent (25 of 60) from the field, but 18 turnovers and a 3-of-17 effort from three-point land allowed the visitors to escape with the win.
 
Union will head to the North Country next weekend for two more important conference games, beginning with a Friday night matchup at Clarkson University at 5:30 p.m.