BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – For the first half of the Geneva College women's basketball game at home against Houghton College on Tuesday evening, the Golden Tornadoes looked like they were on cruise control, building an 18-point halftime lead against the visiting Highlanders.  The second half was a different story, though, as Geneva had to hold on late to defeat an inspired Houghton squad, 65-61.  Geneva improved to 2-4, while Houghton fell to 4-2.

After getting off to poor starts in its last two games, Head Coach Lori Wynn could not have written a much better script to start for Geneva.  Sophomore Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) scored five early points as Geneva raced out to an 11-0 lead just three minutes into the game, and by the end of the first quarter seven different Golden Tornadoes had scored in helping build a 21-9 lead.

Things only got better for Geneva in the second quarter.  Sophomore Kaitlyn Totani (Milton, Ohio/ Jackson-Milton) scored five quick points to start the period, and after six straight points from senior Callie Ford (New Middleton, Ohio/Springfield Local) midway through the quarter, Geneva took its biggest lead of the game, 32-11.  Houghton managed to cut the lead to 35-23, but the Golden Tornadoes scored the last six points of the half to take a 41-23 halftime lead.  Ford led the offense with 13 points in the half.

However, the halftime break did not prove kind to Geneva.  The Golden Tornadoes came out cold, and Houghton took advantage, outscoring Geneva 20-7 in the quarter to cut the lead to 48-43.  The Golden Tornadoes managed to shoot just 3-of-16 in the period.

Geneva rallied early in the fourth quarter, stretching the lead back out to 61-50 on a 3-pointer from Ford with five minutes remaining, and it looked like the Golden Tornadoes had regained control.  The Highlanders, though, had one last run left, this one an 11-2 run to close to within 63-61.  Houghton then got the stop it needed defensively, giving it one last possession to try to steal the win, but Cori Beck's open 3-pointer from the corner with three seconds remaining just missed.  Freshman Shannon Wolfe (Alliance, Ohio/West Branch) corralled the rebound and was fouled, and she made both free throws to seal the win, 65-61.

"This was a really good win for us," a relieved Coach Wynn said afterwards.  "We had to battle in the second half.  They are a really good, well-coached team.  I thought the first half was the best we have played all year."

Ford scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Wolfe added 10 points off the bench.  After shooting 46% in the first half, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range, Geneva shot just 30% in the second half, enabling Houghton to fight its way back into the game.  Houghton was led by Beck and Emily Swanson, who both finished with 10 points.

This will not be the last time Geneva sees Houghton this season as the Highlanders return to Metheny Fieldhouse over Christmas break for another game.  Next up for the Golden Tornadoes is a home game against Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Waynesburg on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.


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.