BETHANY, W.Va. – The Geneva College women's basketball team had a poor-shooting first half at Bethany on Monday night, and the Golden Tornadoes could never recover in dropping a 77-62 decision to the Bison. Geneva dropped to 8-13 overall, 7-9 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Bethany improved to 13-9, 8-7 in the PAC.
Bethany opened with a free throw before sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) knocked down a three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes their only lead of the game. Geneva struggled offensively the rest of the half, though, getting open looks but unable to knock down anything. The Golden Tornadoes scored just two points over the next five minutes as the Bison took advantage with an 11-2 run.
In fact, Geneva was able to convert just one of its next 21 three-point shots in the first half, and Bethany quickly began to pull away from the cold-shooting Golden Tornadoes. Geneva scored just eight points in the first quarter and went into the halftime break trailing 42-23. The Golden Tornadoes shot just 20% from the floor, including a 3-of-23 (13%) effort from three-point range. Bethany also hurt Geneva on the boards, outrebounding the Golden Tornadoes by 13 in the half.
Geneva played better offensively in the third quarter. A three-pointer from junior Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) kicked off a 10-point run for the Golden Tornadoes early in the quarter, pulling Geneva within 46-33. However, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't find a way to slow down Bethany's leading scorer, and the top three-point shooter in the PAC, Lindsey Garrison. Every time Geneva made a run, Garrison knocked down a long range shot to keep the Golden Tornadoes from getting any closer, and at the end of the quarter Bethany led 64-47.
Geneva was unable to make a run in the fourth quarter, with the Bison leading comfortably the rest of the game to win 77-62.
Stewart led the offense with 16 points. Sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) and freshman Lily Ybarra (Corpus Christi, Texas/Tuloso-Midway) each added 10 points apiece. The Golden Tornadoes shot just 26.9% from the floor, including 10-of-42 (23.8%) from three-point range.
Bethany finished the game shooting 38.7% from the floor and outrebounded Geneva 57-41. The Bison were led by Garrison, who finished with 26 points.
The women return home for a matchup with Saint Vincent on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the last regular season home game of the season for the Golden Tornadoes.
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).
