POTSDAM, N.Y. – Seniors Kate Peek and Jelena Perovic combined for 40 points as the Union College women's basketball team ran their winning streak to seven games by grinding out a 70-65 victory over Clarkson University in the penultimate game of the regular season on Friday evening at Clarkson's Alumni Gym.
 
Union (19-5, 15-2 Liberty League) remains tied with Rochester Institute of Technology atop the Liberty League standings with one game remaining, and can clinch the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament with a victory over St. Lawrence University tomorrow.
 
Peek went 6-of-8 from long range on the way to a team-leading 21 points, with 12 coming in the second half. Perovic poured in 19 points and also matched classmate Grace Ceseretti for the team lead with eight rebounds while also dishing out four assists and adding two blocks and two steals. In addition to her eight caroms, Ceseretti also handed out a game-high nine assists and scored six points.
 
Perovic led all players with eight points in the opening frame, as Union fended off a hot-shooting Clarkson side that hit 8-of-12 shots from the field. A 6-2 run early in the period gave the visitors their first lead at 6-4, and a 7-2 stretch soon after opened up the largest lead of the frame at 13-9 after a pair of Perovic free throws. Peek scored six points and first-year Ryley Tate-Padian had four for the visitors in the opening 10 minutes, from which Union emerged with a 20-18 lead.
 
The Golden Knights battled back to take a 26-24 lead at the midway point of the second stanza, but a jumper by sophomore Olivia Cunningham evened the score at 26 at the media timeout and Peek followed with a three to put Union back on top. Baskets by Ceseretti and Tate-Padian helped the visitors to a 34-33 edge at the break.
 
Union held the one-point lead despite Clarkson (10-14, 6-11 Liberty League) shooting a red-hot 60.9 percent (14 of 23) from the field in the first half. The Garnet Chargers shot just 36.4 percent (12 of 33), but grabbed seven offensive rebounds and forced five turnovers to take 10 more shots while also going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
 
The Golden Knights cooled off from the field in the second half, hitting 11-of-28 shots (39.2 percent) to allow Union to gain some breathing room. The teams traded the lead multiple times in the opening minutes of the third, with Union using a 6-0 run from Perovic (two points) and junior Morgan Schultz (four points) to take a 43-38 advantage with 7:17 on the clock. Clarkson outscored Union 8-7 the rest of the way, but Union still held a 50-46 lead after three periods.
 
The home team battled back to even the score at 51 with 7:43 left before Union rattled off eight straight points to take a 59-51 lead with 5:17 left, finished off by a layup by senior Grace Ardito. The visitors built their lead up to as many as 10 points at 65-55 after a Perovic bucket with 1:55 left and managed the rest of the way to complete the victory.
 
The Garnet Chargers picked up the win despite shooting 39.1 percent (25 of 64) from the field and seeing Clarkson hit on 49.0 percent (25 of 51) of its attempts. With field goals even, Union earned the edge with two more three-pointers and a 13-of-18 effort at the charity stripe. Union also ended the game with a 41-28 advantage on the glass, which resulted in 14 second-chance points.
 
Union will close out the regular season tomorrow with a 2 p.m. matchup at St. Lawrence University.