LANGHORNE, Pa. – This is the sort of loss that keeps coaches up at night.  The Geneva College women's basketball team led for most of the game against Penn State Lehigh Valley on the second day of the Cairn Tournament, including by 20 points in the second half, but poor play down the stretch enabled Lehigh Valley to pull even late, and the Lions finished off the comeback in overtime, 96-91.  Lehigh Valley improved to 1-3, while Geneva fell to 1-2.

Freshman Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) hit a three-point shot with Geneva trailing early, 7-6, to spark the Golden Tornadoes on a run early in the game.  Over the next six minutes, Geneva outscored Lehigh Valley 16-5 to take a 22-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

Lehigh Valley opened the second quarter with a 12-3 run to tie the score at 25-25.  The Lions continued their run, taking at 34-28 lead, their biggest of the game, with 2:33 remaining in the half.  However, back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Taylor Greene (Conway, Pa./Freedom) and senior Jeana Luciana (Oakmont, Pa./Saint Joseph) pulled Geneva even, and the Golden Tornadoes regained the lead heading into the break, 38-35.

The third quarter couldn't have started any better for the Golden Tornadoes.  Junior Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) and Luciana opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to take a 44-35 lead.  Geneva continued its blitz of Lehigh Valley, and after Luciana converted a three-point play, the Golden Tornadoes led 60-40 with 5:42 remaining in the quarter.  Unfortunately, Geneva couldn't hold on to its lead.

The Lions used a run over the final five minutes of the third quarter to cut Geneva's lead down to 68-59.  The Golden Tornadoes struggled against the Lehigh Valley full-court pressure, and turnovers led to easy baskets for the Lions, enabling Lehigh Valley to eventually tie the game up, 78-78, with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Another three-pointer from Luciana regained the lead for Geneva, 81-78, and when Luciana scored a layup with 42 seconds remaining, Geneva held an 85-80 lead.  Junior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy) came up with a steal on the next possession, and Geneva had the ball ahead by five with 28 seconds remaining.  However, two turnovers down the stretch, along with a missed free throw, allowed Lehigh Valley to tie up the game with nine seconds remaining, 86-86, sending the game to overtime.

Senior Lydia Roth (Butler, Pa./Homeschool) opened the extra period with a jumper, but it would prove to be the last lead of the game for Geneva.  Lehigh Valley closed the game with a 10-3 run to steal away the victory, 96-91.

Luciana scored a career-high 26 points, the second straight game she scored a career best.  Tipton contributed another double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, her third double-double of the season.  Melnek also reached double figures with 15 points.  Geneva shot 31-of-86 (36%) from the floor, including 13-of-43 (30.2%) from three-point range.  Turnovers proved costly, though, as the Golden Tornadoes finished with 31, including several late that came back to haunt Geneva.

"The ladies are learning how to close out games," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "We beat ourselves today late.  We had every opportunity to close this game out and did not capitalize on those opportunities.  We have only ourselves to blame."

Geneva will return to action on Wednesday, November 20, when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Ohio Christian for a 5:00 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 115 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 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.