BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Fans would have never guessed they were about to see a record-breaking performance on Saturday night after the first quarter of the Geneva College women's basketball game with Thiel.  However, what a third quarter they saw as the Golden Tornadoes made 12 three-pointers in the third period on their way to a school-record (we're sure about this one) 21 three-pointers in a 101-62 win over the Tomcats.  Geneva finished its regular season with a 4-5 record, 4-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Thiel dropped to 0-4, 0-4 in the PAC.

It was just a year ago on this same floor that Geneva hosted Thiel and fans saw a different Geneva record-breaking performance.  That night saw senior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) break the single-game scoring record with 40 points, all on inside shots.  She also grabbed 27 rebounds in that contest.  However, on Senior Night this season, with seniors Tipton, Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) and Shannon Staver (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) being recognized before the game prior to the final home game of their career, it was the three-point shot, mostly from newcomers, that broke records on Saturday night.

Things couldn't have started much more poorly for Geneva, though.  The first made basket for either team was Staver's layup three minutes in.  The first quarter was a challenging quarter offensively for both teams, with turnovers, fouls and missed shots being the prevalent theme of the first ten minutes.  Geneva managed to hit just one of its first ten from long range, and Tipton, Geneva's leading scorer, picked up three early fouls in the quarter, sending her to the bench.  On top of that, Melnek, the top three-point shooter in the PAC, was unable to register a point in the first 20 minutes.  It was actually Thiel that led the game 14-9 with seconds remaining in the quarter before freshman Anna Hampshire (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) knocked down a three-pointer with ten seconds remaining, and then sophomore Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) stole the inbounds pass and scored at the buzzer to even the score up, 14-14.

The offense started to pick up for both teams in the second quarter.  The game saw 12 lead changes over the first eight minutes of the period.  It was freshman Emily Bucheit's (Kane, Pa./Kane) three-pointer with 1:52 remaining before halftime that proved to be the final lead change of the game, giving the Golden Tornadoes a 38-37 lead.  It was the start of a 14-2 Geneva run over the final two minutes, with freshman Samantha Dudley (Kettle Falls, Wash./Kettle Falls) and Bucheit hitting back-to-back three-pointers later in the run, that gave Geneva a 49-39 lead going into the break.

It would have been hard to imagine what was about to happen in the third quarter, though.  It was Thiel that actually scored the first five points of the quarter, and then a Golden Tornado onslaught started.  Melnek got things started with back-to-back three pointers.  Hampshire followed with a three-pointer, and Melnek added a third three-pointer.  Freshman Abby King (New Geneva, Pa./Albert-Gallatin) was next to get into the act from deep, followed by another from Hampshire, then another from King.  Melnek hit her fourth of the quarter, Dudley followed with one from deep, Staver drained one from long range, followed by Melnek's fifth of the quarter, and finally Dudley's three-pointer with two seconds remaining ended the barrage.  The final damage was a 12-of-15 effort from long range leading to an 87-56 Geneva lead.  Tipton's layup was the only Geneva score in the quarter that wasn't from three-point range.

The only question left was whether the Golden Tornadoes would reach the century mark in the final quarter, which the women hadn't accomplished since the opening game of the 1995 season.  Hampshire's layup with just under a minute was the magic shot that pushed Geneva into triple digits, and the Golden Tornadoes finished off the 101-62 win.  The 101 points are the second-highest total in school history for the women.

"We just shot the eyes out of it tonight," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "There's really not much more to say than that.  When you shoot with confidence and have fun playing, these sorts of nights can happen."

The previous team record for made three-pointers by the women was 13, accomplished five times.  Geneva almost tied that record in the third quarter alone.  King led the offense with a career-high 23 points, including six three-pointers.  Hampshire added a career-high 19 points, including three three-pointers, while Melnek scored 15 points on five three-pointers, all in the third quarter.  Dudley also scored a career-high 12 points, including three three-pointers, and Bucheit was the last Golden Tornado in double figures with a career-high with 11 points, including three three-pointers.  In total, Geneva made 21-of-51 shots from long range.

Geneva will now wait for the PAC playoffs to begin, which aren't scheduled to start for two weeks.  The Golden Tornadoes are likely to be either the fifth or sixth seed in the tournament, with Geneva being the first women's team to complete its regular 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.