BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team used a big third quarter to come away with a 78-73 victory at Waynesburg on Saturday afternoon in Geneva's final regular season game of the year. The Golden Tornadoes broke a three-game losing streak in improving their record to 9-14 overall, 8-10 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg dropped to 5-19, 5-13 in the PAC. The victory also completed the season sweep of Waynesburg for the Golden Tornadoes, the first time Geneva has won both games against Waynesburg in the same season since the 2007-08 season.
The first quarter was tight throughout between the two teams. A bucket by junior Tess Liggett (Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana) gave Geneva its first lead at 6-5. Waynesburg scored two baskets to take a 9-6 lead, but a layup from sophomore Anna Hampshire (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford Area) and a three-pointer from junior Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) gave Geneva an 11-9 lead. A three-pointer from freshman Lily Ybarra (Corpus Christi, Texas/Tuloso-Midway) gave the Golden Tornadoes their biggest lead of the quarter, 17-13, but the Yellow Jackets pulled even at 19-19 at the first break.
A three-pointer from Abby King (New Geneva, Pa./Albert-Gallatin) and a layup from Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) gave Geneva a 28-25 lead midway through the second quarter, but Waynesburg scored the next 10 points to take its biggest lead of the game, 35-28, and the Yellow Jackets managed to hold on for a 37-34 lead at the half.
Freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) opened the second half with a three-pointer to pull Geneva level, and after a Waynesburg bucket, a layup from sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) and another three-pointer from Roth gave the Golden Tornadoes a 42-39 lead, which they would ultimately never relinquish. Sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) followed with a steal and a layup, and then after another steal, Stewart scored again and was fouled, converting the three-point play and finishing off a 10-point run, giving Geneva a 47-39 lead.
A bucket from Waynesburg broke the run, but senior Shannon Wolfe (Alliance, Ohio/West Branch) answered with a layup, followed by another three-pointer from King. Later in the quarter, a King layup gave Geneva its biggest lead of the game, 58-46, and the Golden Tornadoes still led 62-52 heading into the final break.
Waynesburg opened the fourth quarter, though, with an 11-4 run to pull within 66-63, and the game was close the rest of the way. The Yellow Jackets scored to pull within one, 68-67, with 4:21 remaining, but Geneva answered with baskets from Hampshire and Jackson, followed by a free throw from San Nicolas, to extend its lead to 73-67 with 2:35 left. The Golden Tornadoes never let their lead get any lower than three points the rest of the way, and Geneva held on for the 78-73 victory.
Geneva finished with a very balanced attack, with Stewart leading the way with 13 points and five steals. Roth also reached double figures with 11 points. San Nicolas just missed another double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. In total, ten different Golden Tornadoes scored, and eight scored at least six points. Geneva shot 32.3% from the floor, though the Golden Tornadoes continued to struggle from long range, finishing just 7-of-38 (18.4%) on three-pointers. Geneva outrebounded Waynesburg 62-55, including 31 offensive rebounds leading to 34 second-chance points.
Waynesburg finished the game shooting 39.2% from the floor, including just 1-of-16 (6.3%) from three-point range. Geneva's pressure led to 29 Yellow Jacket turnovers. Brooke Fuller had a big game for Waynesburg, finishing with 29 points and 17 rebounds.
The top six teams in the PAC receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Geneva and Saint Vincent both finished the regular season with 10 conference losses, though the Golden Tornadoes had eight wins and the Bearcats seven wins because Saint Vincent lost a game with Thiel because of COVID protocols. The athletic directors decided on a conference call on Saturday to count the missed game as a win for Saint Vincent, which brings the Bearcats into a tie with Geneva. Since Saint Vincent swept Geneva, the Bearcats won the tiebreaker and will receive the bye, and the Golden Tornadoes will play #10 seed Franciscan on Monday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m. The winner will travel to Westminster on Tuesday night to take on the #2 seed Titans.
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).
