WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team traveled to Washington & Jefferson on Saturday afternoon to take on a strong W&J squad, and the Golden Tornadoes battled the Presidents for most of the game before W&J pulled away in the second half for an 82-72 victory.  W&J improved to 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva lost for the sixth straight time to fall to 1-7, 0-2 in the PAC.
 
Things didn't start well for the Golden Tornadoes.  Junior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy) scored the first bucket of the game before W&J scored ten straight points to take an early lead.  The Presidents found success against the Geneva pressure, and after back-to-back W&J three-pointers, the Golden Tornadoes trailed 26-11 and it looked like a rout was on.  However, Geneva regrouped and answered with a ten-point run of its own, with junior Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) hitting two three-pointers in the final minute to pull Geneva to within 26-21 at the end of the first quarter.
 
W&J opened the second quarter with four straight points to push its lead back to 30-21, but a jumper from junior April Mann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Evangelical Christian Academy) started another run for the Golden Tornadoes.  During the next six minutes, Geneva outscored W&J 12-2, and when senior Jeana Luciana (Oakmont, Pa./Saint Joseph) scored with two minutes remaining in the half, the Golden Tornadoes regained the lead, 33-32.  The two teams eventually went to the half tied at 35-35, with Tipton scoring 12 points and Luciana 10 points.
 
The first four minutes to the third quarter proved to be a back-and-forth affair.  Geneva scored, then W&J scored, with the score tied four separate times.  However, after a layup by Tipton gave Geneva a 44-42 lead, the Presidents answered with seven straight points to take a 49-44 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes would never lead again.  A three-pointer from Melnek brought Geneva to within 49-47 with 2:39 remaining in the quarter, but a 10-2 run by W&J helped the Presidents take a 59-52 lead into the final quarter.
 
W&J pushed its lead to 66-55 early in the fourth quarter.  A three-pointer from freshman Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) would get Geneva to within 68-63 with 5:58 remaining in the game, but that would be as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get.  The Presidents made their free throws down the stretch to hold off a late Geneva rally, winning 82-72.

"We were right there after a bumpy start," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "If we eliminate the scoring drought in the third quarter, I believe we would have had a real chance to pick up what would have been a very tough road win.  W&J hit a few big shots at key moment down the stretch, so give them credit.  But I can see the improvement this team is making from the first day of the year until now, and I'm optimistic about where we are headed."
 
Tipton led the offense once again with 20 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.  Luciana wasn't far behind with 18 points.  Mann gave Geneva a spark off the bench for the second straight game, scoring a career-high 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds.  W&J outrebounded Geneva 51-44, but the free throw line proved to be the biggest difference in the game as W&J made 18-of-24 attempts compared to just 8-of-11 for Geneva.  W&J's Aleena McDaniel scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Presidents.
 
Geneva will be off for three weeks over Christmas break before returning to action on Thursday, January 2, with a 2:00 p.m. tipoff at Franciscan.
 

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.