MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team suffered a narrow loss at Allegheny on Wednesday night, 84-77.  Geneva dropped to 1-6 overall, 1-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Allegheny improved to 3-5, 3-1 in the PAC.

Back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Madi Matthews and sophomore Lily Ybarra less than two minutes into the game gave the Golden Tornadoes an early 6-2 lead.  The first quarter went back-and-forth, with another three-pointer, this one from senior Isabella Roth, giving Geneva an 18-16 edge before the Gators scored the final six points to take a 22-18 advantage at the first break.

Allegheny continued its run going into the second quarter, pushing its lead to 30-20 to finish off the 14-2 stretch over the two quarters.  The Golden Tornadoes answered with an 8-2 run to pull within 32-28 after a layup from freshman Adrianna Campbell, but Geneva could not get any closer before halftime, with Allegheny taking a 40-35 lead into the break.

The Golden Tornadoes pulled within three points twice in the early moments of the third quarter, but the Gators pushed their lead back out to nine points, which is where things stay for most of the rest of the period.  Allegheny held a 67-58 going into the final break.

The Gators extended their edge to 11 points midway through the fourth quarter, their largest of the game, before a quick burst pulled Geneva within 75-70 on a three-pointer from sophomore Taylor Haring with 3:57 remaining.  The Golden Tornadoes cut the deficit to 77-74 after two Haring free throws with 30 seconds remaining, and after Allegheny missed two free throws, Geneva got the ball back with a chance to tie, but a turnover allowed the Gators to hold on and finish out the 84-77 victory.

Junior Mia San Nicolas led the team with 18 points, while Roth finished with 14 points and Haring 11 points.  The Golden Tornadoes struggled from the perimeter, shooting 8-of-36 (22%) from three-point range, and the free throw line, finishing 7-of-15 (47%), which proved costly despite the women forcing 28 Gator turnovers.  Emily Lauer led Allegheny with a game-high 25 points.

Geneva will try to return to the win column on Saturday when the women finally get a chance to play at home after opening the season with seven straight road games.  The Golden Tornadoes host Franciscan for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff.

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).