LEWISTON, Maine – The Union College women's basketball team played #4/6 Smith College nearly even over the final three quarters, but the two-time defending national runners-up got off to a strong start and the Garnet Chargers could never recover in a 73-55 loss in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships on Friday evening at Bates College's Alumni Gym.
 
Senior Grace Ardito scored a team-leading 13 points for Union (22-6) despite battling foul trouble all game long, sinking a team-best three three-pointers. Classmate Grace Ceseretti had a solid all-around game with 12 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists, while fellow senior Jelena Perovic did likewise with 12 points, five caroms, five assists and two blocks.
 
Hannah Martin led four Bears in double figures with a game-high 21 points, and Virginia Johnson added 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for Smith (28-1).
 
With her fifth rebound of the game, sophomore Olivia Cunningham set a new program single-season record with 283, surpassing the previous record of 281 set by Heather Bennett '02 in 2000-01. Ceseretti also finished the season with 106 assists, moving her into third place on the school single-season ledger, while Perovic's 382 points this year cracked the all-time top 10 and finished ninth.
 
The teams were even at six through the first 3:19 of the game after a Perovic layup and two buckets from junior Morgan Schultz, but Union missed its next six attempts while Smith scored 13 straight points to take a 19-6 advantage. Ceseretti hit a three to end Union's six-minute scoring drought but Union still finished the first down 21-9. The Garnet Chargers shot 28.6 percent (4 of 14) from the field in the opening 10 minutes, including a 1-of-7 mark from beyond the arc.
 
Senior Kate Peek started the second stanza with a four-point play to get Union back within eight and the Garnet Chargers hung around for much of the quarter. The garnet got back within eight on four more occasions, but the Bears scored the final four points of the period to retain their 12-point lead at the half at 37-25. Although shooting slightly better in the second, Union still connected at just a 32.3 percent (10 of 31) clip over the first half, compared to 44.1 percent (15 of 34) for Smith.
 
The teams remained evenly matched for the first five minutes of the third quarter before a second-chance bucket from Cunningham and an Ardito triple got the Garnet Chargers back within nine at 46-37. Another Ardito triple briefly brought Union back within eight yet again, but seven in a row by the Bears quickly bumped the lead back up to 15 with under two minutes remaining and Smith took a 58-45 lead into the fourth. The deficit got no smaller than 11 midway through the final frame, as the Garnet Chargers shot just 3-for-13 from the field over the final 10 minutes.
 
Union finished the game shooting 32.8 percent (20 of 61) from the field while Smith, the nation's top shooting team, ended the evening at 45.9 percent (28 of 61). The Bears doubled up the Garnet Chargers 44-22 in the paint and also held a 45-33 edge on the glass.
 
The game marks the end of one of the most successful seasons in program history, as the Garnet Chargers finish with 22 wins (tied for second in school history) and earned the first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 years. It also marks the final game for the squad's five seniors, who helped to carry the team from 10 wins as first-years to 22 in their final campaign.