MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team cruised through the first three quarters of its game at Allegheny College on Wednesday night, leading by as many as 23 points in the third quarter.  The Golden Tornadoes looked like they were headed towards an easy win, but the Gators mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to make the final moments tense, but Geneva held on for a 70-67 victory.  The women evened their record at 1-1 on the season, while Allegheny fell to 1-3.

Junior Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) opened the game with a layup as Geneva scored the first four points.  Allegheny responded with six straight points, and the Gators eventually stretched their lead to 14-10 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.  However, the Golden Tornadoes finished the quarter with a ten-point run, started by a three-pointer from freshman Lily Ybarra (Corpus Christi, Texas/Tuloso-Midway).  Sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) followed with a layup to regain the lead for Geneva, the last time Allegheny would lead on the night.  A layup by sophomore Anna Hampshire (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) and a three-pointer by junior Tess Liggett (Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana) gave the Golden Tornadoes a 20-14 lead at the first break.

Junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Wenatchee Valley College) began the second quarter with back-to-back layups, extending the Geneva run to 14 points as Allegheny struggled with Geneva's full-court pressure.  A three-point play by the Gators eventually stopped the Golden Tornado run, and another Allegheny bucket closed the Geneva lead to 24-19.  However, the Golden Tornadoes finished the second quarter well, going on a 19-4 run over the final seven minutes, including ten straight points over the final four minutes, to take a 43-23 lead into the break.  San Nicolas and Bucheit led the team with 10 points in the half.

Allegheny scored the first six points of the second half as Geneva struggled early with turnovers, and the Gators eventually cut the Golden Tornado lead to 12 points, 45-33, four minutes into the second half.  Roth answered with her own eight-point run, hitting two three-pointers in the stretch to give Geneva a 53-35 lead, and a moment later freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) hit a three-pointer, followed by a layup from San Nicolas, giving the Golden Tornadoes their biggest lead of the game, 58-35.  Allegheny managed to cut the lead down to 59-41 entering the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups to give Geneva a 63-41 lead, and then the Golden Tornadoes went ice cold.  Over the next six minutes, and the Gators scored 20 straight points, closing the Golden Tornadoes lead to 63-61 with 2:41 remaining.  Over that stretch, Geneva missed 14 shots and six free throws.  Roth finally broke through with a huge three-pointer with two minutes remaining, and San Nicolas hit a free throw with 1:29 remaining to give the Golden Tornadoes a little breathing room, 67-61.

Allegheny wouldn't give up, though, pulling within 68-67, and the Gators looked primed to take the lead after they stole a Geneva pass and headed into a fast-break with thirty seconds to go, but Stewart came up with a game-saving steal to keep Allegheny off the board.  She was fouled, and she made both free throws, enabling the Golden Tornadoes to hold on, 70-67.

Roth led the offense with 17 points, including a 4-of-8 effort from long range.  San Nicolas added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Stewart had 12 points and 11 steals, and Bucheit added a third double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

Geneva struggled offensively, shooting just 30.5% from the floor, including 9-of-44 (20.5%) from three-point range.  Allegheny shot 35.1% from the floor, 1-of-13 from three-point range.  Both teams struggled from the line as well.  Geneva hit just 11-of-22 attempts, while Allegheny shot just 14-of-34 (41%) from the stripe.  The Golden Tornadoes forced 31 turnovers from the Gators, coming up with 21 steals, while Geneva turned it over 26 times.

Geneva's season-opening three-game road trip finishes on Saturday with a trip to Oberlin for a 3:00 p.m. matchup.  The Golden Tornadoes play their home-opener next Tuesday when they host Mount Union at 5:30 p.m.

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).