LATROBE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team put together a strong first quarter on Saturday afternoon at Saint Vincent, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't sustain things and fell to the Bearcats, 88-63.  Geneva dropped to 3-13 overall, 3-8 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Saint Vincent improved to 11-3 overall, 9-2 in the PAC.
 
The Bearcats made their first four shots in opening an early 9-2 lead, but a three-pointer from senior Isabella Roth got the Geneva offense started.  Back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Madi Matthews pulled the Golden Tornadoes level at 13-13, and two minutes later two free throws from junior Cynthia Stewart gave Geneva its first lead, 19-17.  Stewart followed with a layup, and then sophomore Lily Ybarra knocked down a jumper to extend the Geneva edge to 23-17 towards the end of the first quarter.
 
The Golden Tornado offense went cold, though, the rest of the half.  Over the final 12:30 of the first half, spanning two quarter, Geneva managed just seven points, and Saint Vincent got its offense rolling again, outscoring the Golden Tornadoes 26-7 to take a 43-30 lead into the break.
 
Geneva got its offense going early in the third quarter, with sophomore Abby Shoaff, Stewart and junior Emily Bucheit all knocking down three-pointers over a two-minute stretch, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't find a way to slow down the Saint Vincent attack.
 
Geneva's three-point shooting kept the women in the game for much of the second half.  The Golden Tornadoes pulled within single digits, 57-48, on a three-pointer from sophomore Mackenzie Barricklow late in the third quarter, and the women were still within 11, 65-54, early in the fourth quarter before Saint Vincent pulled away over the final seven minutes of the game for the 88-63 win.
 
Matthews led the team with 11 points, the only Golden Tornado to reach double figures.  Eleven different players scored for Geneva.  The women shot just 21-of-78 (27%) from the floor, 13-of-47 (28%) from three-point range.  Saint Vincent, led by Emily Cavnini's 30 points, shot 39% from the floor and 46% from deep.  The bigger Bearcats also held a 69-39 rebounding advantage.
 
The women will return to action on Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Chatham at 5:30 p.m.


Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).