BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It's been a week of attrition for the Geneva College women's basketball team.  Playing without two starters, the Golden Tornadoes lost another starter midway through Saturday's game against Thiel, and Geneva couldn't make enough plays down the stretch and fell to the Tomcats, 82-79.  Geneva dropped to 6-7 overall, 5-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Thiel improved to 4-6, 2-2 in the PAC.

Geneva opened the game against Thiel cold, with the Golden Tornadoes going scoreless for over four minutes to open the game.  Junior Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) finally scored, but the Tomcats proceed to build a 17-5 lead seven minutes into the contest.

The Golden Tornadoes closed the first quarter well, though, with Roth hitting Geneva's first three-pointer after the Golden Tornadoes missed 10 straight to open the game, and junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) scored twice to pull Geneva within 17-12 at the first break.

Geneva opened the second quarter with five more points, making it a 12-point Golden Tornado run over a three-minute stretch, capped off by a three-pointer from junior Tess Liggett (Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana).  Three minutes later, Geneva took its first lead of the game, 24-23, on a layup from sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) with 5:33 remaining in the half, and the Golden Tornadoes held on for a 30-28 lead at the break.

Thiel opened the second half well, though, opening the third quarter on an 18-7 run, giving the Tomcats a 46-37 lead.  Geneva battled back, though, and managed to cut the deficit to 53-51 on a put-back at the buzzer by San Nicolas heading into the fourth quarter.

Roth opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, followed by a bucket in transition, giving the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 56-53.  Geneva held the lead for the next five minutes, pushing it to as much as 64-59 on a layup from San Nicolas with 5:26 left.

Geneva still led by five points, 66-61, after two free throws from freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) with 4:25 when Thiel turned things around.  Over the next three minutes, the Tomcats outscored Geneva 15-4, taking a 76-70 lead with 1:23 remaining.

Sophomore Abby King (New Geneva, Pa./Albert-Gallatin) almost brought the Golden Tornadoes all the way back in the closing seconds.  Trailing 80-73 with 18 seconds remaining, King hit a quick three-pointer.  After two free throws from Thiel, King hit another three-pointer with eight seconds remaining, pulling the Golden Tornadoes within 82-79.  The Tomcats proceeded two miss two free throws with seven seconds remaining, but freshman Lily Ybarra's (Corpus Christi, Texas/Tuloso-Midway) three-pointer at the buzzer missed, and Thiel held on for the win.

Roth led the team with a career-high 21 points, including five three-pointers, along with a career-high 12 rebounds.  San Nicolas also provided another double-double, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds.  King also reached double figures with 13 points. 

Geneva struggled shooting from the floor, though, making just 32.6% of its shots, including 8-of-44 (18.2%) from three-point range.  Thiel finished 37.2% from the floor, including 10-of-29 (34.5%) from three-point range.  The Tomcats were led by Destiny Johnson's 22 points and 15 rebounds.  Emily Grandy and Taylor Susany were big off the bench for the Tomcats, combining to shoot 9-of-18 from three-point range.

The women have a tough three-game week ahead, opening with a road game at Grove City on Monday 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).