BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team came into Wednesday night's home game against Westminster having gone through a week in which the Golden Tornadoes were missing multiple key starters, leading to three straight losses.  While Geneva still was missing two starters against the Titans, including leading scorer Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City), sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) put the Golden Tornadoes on her back and led Geneva to a 75-73 victory, the women's best win of the season.  Geneva improved to 7-8 overall, 6-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Westminster dropped to 9-7 overall, 6-4 in the PAC.

Stewart opened the game with a three-pointer, and a minute later junior Tess Liggett (Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana) knocked down another triple to give Geneva an early 6-2 lead.  The Titans took their first lead of the game, 9-8, before a three-pointer from sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) gave the Golden Tornadoes an 11-8 lead with 4:18 left.  Unfortunately, Geneva couldn't get much else going offensively in the quarter, and the game went into the first break tied at 12-12.

The second quarter brought much of the same, with both teams struggling offensively with their shot.  Westminster was the first to get its offense going, though.  After a bucket from Stewart gave Geneva an 18-14 lead with 5:43 remaining in the half, Westminster countered with a 13-3 run to take a 27-21 lead with 2:28 left.  A bucket from junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) pulled Geneva within 29-27 at the break.  Geneva shot just 22.5% in the half, while Westminster finished at just 31.5%.

The Titans managed the better of the play early in the third quarter, three times opening up a seven-point lead, the last time coming with 4:34 remaining, 46-39.  Back-to-back baskets from Stewart started a big run for the Golden Tornadoes, though, to close the quarter.  San Nicolas converted 5-of-6 free throws, while Liggett knocked down another three-pointer to give Geneva a 51-46 lead.  After a Titans bucket, Bucheit hit a jumper, Stewart hit a three-pointer, and then Stewart stole the ball at midcourt and drove in for a layup at the buzzer to open a 58-48 lead going into the fourth quarter.  In total, Geneva outscored Westminster 19-2 over the final 4:34 of the quarter.

However, the Titans had a quick response to start the fourth.  Westminster made its first four three-pointers of the quarter as part of 15-2 run in the first three minutes.  The Titans would extend their lead to 69-64 with 4:38 remaining.

Stewart led Geneva back over the final four minutes, though.  The sophomore knocked down another three-pointer, followed by two free throws from Bucheit, to pull the Golden Tornadoes even, 69-69.  A layup from Stewart gave Geneva a brief lead before Westminster answered right back with just over a minute to go.  Bucheit's short shot with 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead, and after a defensive stop, Stewart was fouled and made both free throws with 13 seconds remaining, and Westminster could only come up with a meaningless layup at the buzzer as Geneva prevailed 75-73.

Stewart finished with a career-high 26 points, including four three-pointers.  Bucheit added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) added 12 points.  San Nicolas just missed out on another double-double, ending with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds.  Geneva finished the game shooting 37.5% from the floor, but the Golden Tornadoes shot 62.5% in the second half, including 10-of-14 (71.4%) in the third quarter.  Geneva also made 19-of-23 (82.6%) free throws.

Westminster shot 38.5% from the floor, but the big difference in the game was the Titans only made it to foul line seven times, converting four of them.  Geneva also handled itself well on the boards, getting outrebounded only 47-45, an area Westminster dominated in the matchup earlier in the season between these two teams.  Camden Hergenrother led five Titans in double figures with 15 points.

"Despite being really short-handed over the past four games, our team has just kept fighting," said Head Coach Michael Grinder.  "We made some big plays down the stretch, and I felt like the ball finally bounced in our favor tonight.  This was a great win for this young team."

Geneva heads to Chatham on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. match with the Cougars.

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).