BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In what has become a theme for the Geneva College women's basketball team at home recently, the Golden Tornadoes hung with their opponent for most of the game but couldn't keep up late.  On Wednesday night the opponent was Chatham University, and despite holding a halftime lead, Geneva came up on the losing end, 91-79.  Chatham improved to 8-8 overall, 4-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 2-11, 0-6 in the PAC.

Geneva jumped out to an early 6-0 lead against the visiting Cougars.  Chatham responded with eight straight points to take its first lead of the game, 8-6, and from there the first half went back and forth.   Geneva led 20-19 after a high scoring 1^st quarter. 

The Golden Tornadoes stretched their lead out to five points, 28-23, early in the second quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Alexis Gates (New Waterford, Ohio/Crestview) and senior Callie Ford (New Middleton, Ohio/Springfield Local).  Chatham would tie the game back up at 38-38, but Geneva managed to take a small lead, 43-40, to the halftime break.  Ford had 12 points in the half.

Geneva took its biggest lead of the game, 55-49, four minutes into the second half after a layup from sophomore Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy).  Chatham responded, though, with a 15-5 run to take a 64-60 lead, which Geneva managed to cut to 66-64 at the end of the third quarter.

Trailing 69-66 early in the fourth quarter, Geneva saw Chatham go on a 12-2 run to take an 81-68 lead with three minutes remaining, effectively ending any chance the Golden Tornadoes had of a victory.  The Cougars closed out the win, 91-79.

"We played really well in spurts," said Head Coach Lori Wynn.  "But as has been the case too often this year, we can't put together a whole game, and tonight was another example of that."

Tipton led the offense with a career-high 21 points, to go along with 11 rebounds, as the sophomore continues to emerge as a key weapon for Geneva down low.  Ford added 14 points, Gates 11 points, and sophomore Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) added 10 points.  Geneva shot 53% in the first half, but finished at just 41% after struggling offensively after the break.  Chatham was led by Katie Sieg, who finished with 30 points.

Geneva travels to Saint Vincent on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff against the Bearcats.


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.