BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In a game with wild swings and big leads for both teams, the Geneva College women's basketball team held on in the final moments to defeat Waynesburg on Saturday afternoon, 79-78.  Geneva improved to 5-5 overall, 4-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), which gives the Golden Tornadoes their best start in conference play since joining the PAC ten years ago.  Waynesburg fell to 1-11 overall, 1-5 in the PAC, though the Yellow Jackets have played some of the top teams in the conference tough.

Junior Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) opened the game with back-to-back layups, but it was all Waynesburg from there in the first quarter.  The Yellow Jackets caught fire, led by Waynesburg guard Avery Robinson's shooting from long range.  Waynesburg led 16-10 after back-to-back buckets from junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinaja, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) when Robinson knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a Yellow Jacket run.  Over the next four minutes, Waynesburg outscored Geneva 17-6, opening up a 33-16 lead before freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) scored just before the end of the first quarter.

Waynesburg still led 38-23 three minutes into the second quarter after another three-pointer from Robinson before Geneva stormed back.  San Nicolas scored four points and sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) hit a three-pointer to start a 22-5 run to close out the half.  Roth brought Geneva all the way back with a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Golden Tornadoes a 45-43 lead at the break.

After a hot first half for both teams, neither team could find much success offensively through much of the third quarter.  Waynesburg didn't score for the first five minutes, but Geneva managed just six points during that stretch.  The Golden Tornadoes found the range first, though, led by Bucheit who knocked down two three-pointers.  When San Nicolas scored in the paint, Geneva led 64-48 with a minute remaining in the quarter.

However, led by Robinson, Waynesburg rallied back as the Golden Tornadoes went ice cold.  Over the next six minutes, Geneva scored just one point, and it took over seven minutes before the Golden Tornadoes finally made another shot from the floor, that coming from San Nicolas with four minutes remaining after the Yellow Jackets had closed to within 67-66.

The game stayed tight the rest of the way.  Jackson made a huge three-pointer with 1:22 remaining to extend the Geneva lead to 76-71.  Waynesburg closed within two, 77-75, with 18 seconds left, but with the Yellow Jackets trying to foul, the Golden Tornadoes broke through the pressure and sophomore Anna Hampshire (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) laid it in with 11 seconds remaining to seal the victory.  Waynesburg hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to close out the scoring, 79-78.

San Nicolas led the way with career-highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds.  Bucheit, three days after scoring a career-high 20 points against Franciscan, added 17 points.  Jackson also reached double figures with 14 points.

As a team, Geneva shot just 38.5% from the floor, including a 7-of-27 (25.9%) effort from three-point range.  The Golden Tornadoes forced 32 turnovers, though, which proved to be a big difference in the game as Waynesburg shot 42.9% from the floor, including 10-of-24 (41.7%) from long range.  The Yellow Jackets also won the battle of the boards, 54-42.  Robinson had a game-high 21 points, including six three-pointers, to lead the Yellow Jackets.

"I thought after the rocky start, we played pretty well in the second and third quarters," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "We certainly didn't play our best in the fourth quarter, but we made enough plays down the stretch to win.  Give credit to Waynesburg for coming out and hitting a lot of shots early, but our ladies stuck together and pulled out a big conference win."

Geneva is scheduled to host Bethany on Monday, but with the potential for a significant snowstorm on Sunday night into Monday, there is a possibility that game will be moved to Tuesday evening.  Fans will be allowed back into the gym for that game.

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).