ALTOONA, Pa. – Senior Callie Ford (New Middleton, Ohio/Springfield Local) has already had a very distinguished career, and if the first game of her senior season for the women's basketball team is any indication, she's in for a huge final season.  Unfortunately for Geneva, though, the Golden Tornadoes came up just short in overtime at Penn State Altoona on Friday night in the first game of their season, 83-82, despite a Geneva single-game record 39 points from Ford.  Penn State Altoona improved to 1-0, while Geneva fell to 0-1.

The game between the two teams proved to be a high scoring affair, and both teams scored early and often in the first quarter, with a 3-point play with less than a second remaining in the quarter giving Penn State Altoona a 20-18 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Penn State Altoona stretched its lead to 30-22, its biggest lead of the first half, before Geneva closed to within 41-36 at the break.  Ford had 16 points in the first half.

Penn State Altoona looked to be taking control of the game in the third quarter, as the Lions built their lead up to 52-41 with four minutes remaining.  However, Geneva responded with three straight 3-pointers, one from Ford and two from sophomore Kaitlyn Totani (Milton, Ohio/Jackson-Milton), and when sophomore Alexis Gates (New Waterford, Ohio/Crestview) and Ford followed with layups, Geneva had a 54-52 lead.

From there the game stayed close throughout.  Geneva held a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and neither team led by more than four points in the final period.  Geneva looked to have put itself into position to win when Gates hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining to go up 75-72, but Penn State Altoona answered with a 3-pointer of its own with 28 seconds remaining, and a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Gates was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

Geneva took a three-point lead, 82-79, with less than three minutes remaining in overtime, but unfortunately those would prove to be the last points the Golden Tornadoes would score.  Geneva came up empty on its last five possession, and Penn State Altoona took advantage by scoring the game's final four points to win the game, 83-82.

"We're definitely disappointed with the final outcome," said Head Coach Lori Wynn.  "But we fought hard and had chances to win.  There are things we need to get better at, but we also did some positive things as well."

Besides Ford's record-breaking 39 points, Gates and Totani both finished with 15 points, giving Geneva additional scoring options on the night besides Ford.  Totani was particularly efficient from the floor, going 5-of-8 overall, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.  Geneva shot 39% from the floor, but the Golden Tornadoes really hurt themselves from the free throw line, going just 11-for-23 for 48%.

Geneva has a quick turnaround as it heads on to Clarks Summit for a 1:00 p.m. game tomorrow against the Defenders.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.