PITTSBURGH, Pa. – There will be better days ahead for this very young Geneva College women's basketball team.  The excitement of a new season quickly wore off for the Golden Tornadoes in their season-opener at La Roche on Friday night, with a rough first quarter spelling doom against the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) preseason favorite Redhawks, and Geneva never recovered in falling 110-57. 
 
The game couldn't have started much worse for Geneva.  The Golden Tornadoes missed their first eight shots, including five three-pointers, along with committing seven turnovers and four fouls as La Roche raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first five minutes.  Freshman Taylor Haring (Pittsburgh, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) finally got Geneva on the board with a three-pointer, but it did little to stop the Redhawks' momentum as La Roche finished the first quarter with a commanding 30-4 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes made just 1-of-15 shots in the opening frame while committing nine turnovers.
 
Geneva got its offense going in the second quarter, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't slow down La Roche, and the Redhawks took a 59-29 lead into the halftime break.  Haring led Geneva with eight points in the half.
 
Things didn't get much better in the second half, as Geneva couldn't get any momentum going, and La Roche finished off the second half with a 110-57 victory.
 
The first and third quarters proved to be a problem for Geneva tonight, as La Roche outscored the Golden Tornadoes 59-10 in those two quarters combined. 
 
The final numbers showed Geneva's struggles in the season-opener.  The Golden Tornadoes shot 17-of-64 (26.6%) from the field and 7-of-26 (26.9%) from three-point range, while committing 31 turnovers.  Haring and freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) led Geneva with 10 points apiece.
 
La Roche, on the other hand, made 44-of-81 (54.3%) shots from the field, including 8-of-17 (47.1%) from three-point range.  Makayla Abrams led six Redhawks in double figures with 20 points.
 
Geneva stays on the road next week with a trip to Allegheny on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. start time.


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 has one of the top 100 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).