NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team got off to a poor start on Tuesday night in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Quarterfinals at Westminster, and the Golden Tornadoes could never recover in falling 105-77. Geneva's season ends with a 10-15 record.
It took Geneva over four minutes to get on the board in the first quarter, that coming on a three-pointer from sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch), after Westminster scored the first nine points. It took another four minutes for the Golden Tornadoes make another basket, allowing the Titans to extend their lead to 19-3 with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
Geneva did rally a little early in the second quarter, with a three-pointer from sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa./Kane) pulling the Golden Tornadoes within 25-15, and two minutes later a bucket from freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) cut the deficit under ten points, 28-19. However, Westminster finished the second quarter with seven straight points to take a 45-26 lead into the break.
Geneva had one last run in it starting the third quarter, and the Golden Tornadoes pulled within ten points, 60-50, on another three-pointer from Stewart. However, Westminster blew the game open to finish off the quarter, scoring the final 11 points to take a 79-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Titans cruised the rest of the way for the 105-77 victory.
Jackson led the team with a career-high 18 points. Stewart was right behind with 17 points, while juniors Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) and Isabella Roth (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City) each added 10 points. The Golden Tornadoes shot 32.6% from the floor, including 11-of-41 (26.8%) from three-point range.
Geneva had no answers for Westminster defensively, with the Titans shooting 58.7% from the floor, including 6-of-16 (37.5%) from three-point range. Westminster outrebounded Geneva 52-39. Camden Hergenrother led five Titans in double figures with 18 points.
The women will see two players leave to graduation, both reserves in Shannon Wolfe (Alliance, Ohio/West Branch) and Elise De Jong (Bloomington, Ind./Homeschool), so the Golden Tornadoes will return all of their starters and several key reserves as Head Coach Michael Grinder continues to build the program back up.
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).
