BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – After a slow start, the Geneva College women's basketball team took control of its game at home against Franciscan on Wednesday night, using a strong second half to defeat the Barons 73-54. The women improved to 2-3 overall, 2-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Franciscan dropped to 3-4, 1-3 in the PAC.
Geneva came out cold in the first quarter. The Golden Tornadoes didn't make their first shot from the field until seven minutes into the game, but five free throws kept the women within 7-5 before senior Emily Bucheit knocked down Geneva's first shot, a three-pointer, to give the Golden Tornadoes an 8-7 edge. Neither team could generate much offense early, though, as Franciscan held a 12-11 lead the first break.
The Barons jumped out to their biggest lead of the game early in the second quarter, 20-13, and Franciscan held that margin for the next several minutes before Geneva closed the half well. Trailing 29-23 with 3:45 left, the Golden Tornadoes finished the second quarter on a 10-3 run to grab a 33-32 lead going into the break.
Geneva slowly built its lead in the third quarter. The Golden Tornadoes could not find much success from long range, so the women attacked the basket and found success in the paint, along with some easy buckets off forced Baron turnovers. Senior Mia San Nicolas was effective early in the quarter, scoring eight straight at one point to give Geneva a 47-38 advantage midway through the period. Back-to-back buckets from senior Cynthia Milroy at the end of the quarter gave the women their first double digit lead, 53-42, heading into the fourth.
Geneva put the game away early in the fourth period. Milroy hit another bucket, and then junior Abby Shoaff connected from long range to give the Golden Tornadoes a 58-42 lead, and the Barons never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. A jumper from Milroy late pushed the lead to 71-50 before the women closed out the win, 73-54.
Milroy led the offense with her best game of the year, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and six steals. San Nicolas finished with another double-double, scoring 14 points while grabbing 12 boards. Junior Taylor Milroy also reached double figures with 11 points, while junior Mackenzie Barricklow pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. The women shot 26-of-72 (36%) from the floor and just 4-of-23 (17%) from long range, but Geneva forced 26 Baron turnovers, leading to 18 points, and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 20 points.
Franciscan shot just 20-of-71 (28%) from the floor and 4-of-16 (25%) from three-point range. The Barons were led by Ilena Gonazles, who finished with 12 points.
Geneva will try to make it two straight wins when the women host Allegheny on Saturday at 1:00 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).
