WAYNESBURG, Pa. – It had been a decade since the Geneva College women's basketball team had experienced the joy of victory against Waynesburg, a span that included 18 straight games.  That all came to an end on Monday night.  Despite a very slow start, the Golden Tornadoes rebounded to overcome a double-digit deficit in defeating the Yellow Jackets, 72-65.  Geneva improved to 2-1 overall, 2-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg fell to 0-3, 0-3 in the PAC.

Things couldn't have started much worse for Geneva.  Waynesburg scored the first four points of the game, and the Golden Tornadoes could not get anything going offensively.  A three-pointer from freshman Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) finally got Geneva on the board four minutes into the game, but the Golden Tornadoes could generate only six points all quarter, shooting 2-of-21 (9.5%) from the floor in falling behind 16-6 at the first break.

Waynesburg opened the second quarter with another bucket, giving the Yellow Jackets their biggest lead of the night, 18-6.  Waynesburg still led 22-12 three minutes into the quarter when senior Lauren Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) converted two free throws to get the offense back on track.  Tipton made back-to-back buckets a minute later, and after sophomore Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) scored seven straight points, include a three-pointer at the end of the run, Geneva took its first lead of the game, 28-26.  However, a three-pointer from Waynesburg's Andrea Orlosky right before the halftime buzzer gave the Yellow Jackets a 31-28 lead going into the break.  The Golden Tornadoes made just 2-of-18 three-pointers in the half.

Senior Emily Melnek (Poland, Ohio/Poland) knocked down a three-pointer early in the third quarter to even the score at 33-33, and Roth added a layup followed closely by a three-pointer from Stewart to put the Golden Tornadoes up by five points.  Two minutes later, back-to-back baskets by Tipton and Melnek extended Geneva's lead to 46-36, its biggest of the game.  The Golden Tornadoes maintained that ten-point lead until the final seconds of the quarter, when Waynesburg scored five quick points in the closing 20 seconds to cut Geneva's lead down to 52-47.

The Yellow Jackets carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring seven quick points to extend their run to 12 points over a two-minute stretch, giving Waynesburg the lead back, 54-52.  Melnek answered with two quick buckets, a three-pointer and layup, to regain the lead for Geneva, 57-54.  The Golden Tornadoes would not relinquish the lead this time, though the game would stay tight the rest of the way.  Melnek and Stewart hit three-pointers two minutes later, extending Geneva's lead to 63-57 with four minutes remaining.  The Golden Tornadoes managed to keep Waynesburg at arm's length the rest of the game, never letting the Yellow Jackets get closer than three points, before finishing off its long-awaited victory, 72-65.

"We came out pretty flat, but unlike in seasons past, we did not fold," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "We dug in and outscored them the next three quarters to pull out our first win against Waynesburg in a long time.  I'm proud of how hard we fought to pick up another road win."

Tipton led the way with 16 points and 18 rebounds, another double-double for the senior All-PAC performer.  Melnek also had her best game of the season, adding 15 points, while Roth also finished with season-highs of 15 points and nine rebounds.  Stewart also scored in double figures, contributing 11 points while picking up a team-high four steals.  Geneva shot just 33% from the floor for the game, but Geneva did shoot a much better 46% in the second half, including 5-of-12 from three-point range.  The Golden Tornadoes dominated the boards as well, outrebounding Waynesburg 61-47.  Orlosky had a game-high 19 points to lead Waynesburg.

Geneva gets right back into action on Wednesday as the Golden Tornadoes return home to face Washington & Jefferson at 7:00 p.m. in Metheny Fieldhouse.


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.