BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team led for most of the first three quarters of its game against the Saint Vincent Bearcats on Wednesday night in the final regular season home game of the year, building a double-digit lead early in the third quarter. However, the Golden Tornadoes went cold the rest of the game and allowed the Bearcats to come all the way back to defeat Geneva, 65-59. The women dropped to 8-14 overall, 7-10 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Saint Vincent improved to 8-12 overall, 7-9 in the PAC.
The first several minutes of the game went back-and-forth until Geneva took the lead, 11-10, on a layup from junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) with 3:14 remaining in the first quarter. Layups in the final minute from senior Shannon Wolfe (Alliance, Ohio/West Branch) and sophomore Anna Hampshire (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) gave Geneva a 19-14 lead at the first break.
The Bearcats started quickly in the second quarter, opening the period on an 11-2 run to take a 25-21 lead with 5:13 remaining before half. Geneva finished the quarter well, though. San Nicolas converted a three-point play, followed by two steals and two layups from sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch). Another layup from San Nicolas, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore Abby King (New Geneva, Pa./Albert-Gallatin) finished off the 12-0 run, and the Golden Tornadoes took a 35-27 lead into the break.
Stewart opened the second half with two free throws to give Geneva its first double-digit lead of the game, and a minute later a layup from San Nicolas gave the Golden Tornadoes their biggest lead of the game, 41-29, just two minutes into the third quarter. However, Geneva struggled the rest of the game offensively, and Saint Vincent took advantage.
Over the next 11 minutes of the game Geneva scored just five points, and the Bearcats came all the way back to take a 50-46 lead three minutes into the final quarter. On the Golden Tornadoes' next possession, Hampshire knocked down a three-pointer, one of only three long range shots Geneva made all game, and a moment later San Nicolas scored to pull the women even at 51-51. However, the Golden Tornadoes could never get its offense going and Saint Vincent pulled away over the final six minutes to win 65-59.
San Nicolas made 9-of-17 shots from the floor for 20 points, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds. The rest of the team shot just 12-of-64 (18.7%) from the floor, including just 3-of-31 (9.7%) from three-point range. Stewart added 14 points for the Golden Tornadoes.
Saint Vincent wasn't great offensively either, shooting 32.4% from the floor, but it was enough to pull out the victory. The bigger Bearcats won the battle of the boards, 59-51, and Saint Vincent was led by Emily Cavacini's 16 points.
The women finish out the regular season with a game at Waynesburg on Saturday, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Tonight's loss guarantees Geneva will finish as the seventh seed for the upcoming PAC playoffs and will host a playoff game on Monday night against either Franciscan or Thiel.
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).
