PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team put up a valiant effort in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs on Monday night, but the Golden Tornadoes saw their efforts come up just short at Chatham, bringing an end to the Geneva season.  Just two weeks after losing at home to Chatham by 20 points, the #8-seed Golden Tornadoes fell to the #5-seed Cougars, 69-63.  Geneva finishes the season 3-21, while Chatham moves on to the PAC semifinals with a 15-10 record.

Junior Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) opened the scoring just four seconds into the game with a three-pointer, and it would prove to be a sign of things to come for the Geneva guard.  The game went back-and-forth throughout the first quarter.  With the score tied at 11-11, Melnek hit two more three-pointers, sandwiched around a Chatham bucket, and that helped the Golden Tornadoes take a 22-19 lead at the end of the first quarter after freshman Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) hit a three-pointer with seconds remaining in the period.

Another three-pointer by Melnek four minutes into the second quarter gave Geneva a 31-24 lead, the biggest of the game for the Golden Tornadoes.  However, the final six minutes of the second quarter proved to be a key stretch in the game.  Chatham closed the half on an 18-3 run as Geneva made just 1-of-11 shots and committed five turnovers over the final six minutes of the quarter.  That put the Golden Tornadoes in a 42-34 deficit heading into halftime.  The first half was primarily a two-woman show for Geneva, with junior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) scoring 15 points and Melnek adding 12 points on four three-pointers.

Geneva opened the second half with better rhythm, though, with Tipton, Melnek and senior Jeana Luciana (Oakmont, Pa./Saint Joseph) opening the third quarter with consecutive baskets to cut the Chatham lead down to 42-40.  However, the Cougars responded with another run, this time scoring nine straight points to extend their lead to 51-40.  Despite the double-digit deficit, the Golden Tornadoes would not go away.  Sophomore Paige Repine (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center) answered with a three-pointer, Roth added a bucket, and Melnek hit another three-pointer, pulling Geneva to within 51-48.  A moment later Luciana scored to cut the Chatham lead down to 52-50, but the Cougars finished the quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to take a 58-50 lead at the final break.

Chatham carried that run into the fourth quarter by opening the period with a 7-1 run, taking a 65-51 lead with seven minutes remaining, the Cougars' biggest lead of the game.  The Golden Tornadoes would answer yet again, though, scoring 11 straight points as Tipton scored the first six and Melnek the final five, pulling Geneva to within 65-62 with 2:48 left.  Unfortunately, that was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get.  Geneva went cold the rest of the way, failing to make a basket, and Chatham made enough free throws to pull out a 69-63 victory, ending the season for the Golden Tornadoes.

Tipton finished her stellar junior season with another huge night, scoring a game-high 23 points while pulling down 17 rebounds.  Melnek wasn't far behind, finishing with 22 points, including 6-of-11 three-pointers.  Geneva outshot Chatham 36% to 29%, but the Cougars outrebounded the Golden Tornadoes 56-46 and made 14 three-pointers.

"I'm proud of our effort tonight," said Head Coach Michael Grinder, finishing his first season with the program.  "We fought all the way to the end, but we just couldn't come up with the plays late to win.  In terms of the season, our record was obviously not what we had hoped, but I thought we competed hard all year.  I'm looking forward to next year's season.  With our underclassmen who are returning, led by Lauren and Emily, along with a big incoming freshman class that I'm really optimistic about, I'm encouraged by what the future holds for this program."

Geneva will say goodbye to seniors Luciana, Meghan Hirneisen (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) and Lydia Roth (Butler, Pa./Homeschool), but the Golden Tornadoes will return Tipton, the PAC's second leading scorer and leading rebounder, along with Melnek, one of the top three-point shooters in the conference, along with a number of underclassmen who saw extended minutes throughout the season.


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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 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.