BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Despite coming into Thursday evening on a four-game losing streak, the Geneva College women battled a strong Grove City team down to the final minutes, but the Golden Tornadoes were not able to hold onto a halftime lead, falling 74-64.  Grove City improved to 8-5 overall, 4-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 2-9, 0-4 in the PAC.

An early 3-pointer from senior Callie Ford (New Middleton, Ohio/Springfield Local) gave Geneva a 5-2 lead just two minutes into the game, and the Golden Tornadoes were able to handle the Grove City full-court pressure in keeping with the fast-paced Wolverines.  After Grove City took a brief 12-10 lead, Geneva responded with seven points in the last minute and a half of the quarter to take a 17-12 lead at the first break.

Geneva maintained that lead throughout the second quarter, taking its biggest lead of the game, 26-18, on a 3-pointer from senior Noelle Henry (Hopewell, Pa./Hopewell).  Strong work from sophomore Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy) on the glass enabled the Golden Tornadoes to take a 36-30 lead into the halftime break.  Tipton had eight points and nine rebounds in the half.

Midway through the third quarter, two free throws from Ford kept the lead at 45-40, but Grove City closed the quarter on a 12-5 run over the last three and a half minutes to give the Wolverines the lead back, 52-50, going into the fourth quarter.

Geneva tied the game back up at 55-55 with seven minutes remaining on a jumper from Ford, and after four straight points from Grove City, another 3-pointer from Henry with four minutes remaining got Geneva to within one point, 59-58.  However, Grove City put together one last burst, this one a 9-2 run, to stretch the lead out to 68-60 with a minute and forty seconds remaining, and the Wolverines made their free throws down the stretch to close out the game, 74-64.

"I thought our kids played hard," Head Coach Lori Wynn said.  "We really committed ourselves to getting better defensively and we are seeing progress.  Grove City is a tough team and is really well coached."

Ford led the offense with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Tipton finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs.  Henry added nine points off the bench.  Geneva shot 42% from the floor.  Fouls were an issue for Geneva, as both Tipton and Ford fouled out, and Grove City took advantage by going 23-of-28 from the free throw line, while Geneva managed to shoot just 7-of-12.  The Wolverines were led by Kate Balcom with a game-high 21 points.

This game was the last of a seven game home stretch for Geneva.  The Golden Tornadoes will head back out onto the road on Saturday when it travels to Westminster for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.


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.