LATROBE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team picked up a huge road win at Saint Vincent on Saturday, breaking a 14-game losing streak to the Bearcats in an 80-66 victory. It's the first win for the Golden Tornadoes at Saint Vincent since 2008. Geneva has now won four straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) games, improving its record to 5-4 overall, 5-2 in the PAC. Saint Vincent dropped to 5-4, 4-2 in the PAC.
The game actually could not have started much worse for Geneva. After a jumper by junior Mackenzie Barricklow tied the score at 2-2 early, the Bearcats followed with a 17-2 run over the next five minutes as Geneva went cold and Saint Vincent got hot. However, senior Emily Bucheit's hot shooting started to turn the tide. She hit back-to-back three-pointers, which helped Geneva pull within 24-15 at the first break.
The Golden Tornadoes continued to use strong outside shooting to make their comeback. Junior Taylor Milroy opened the second quarter with a three-pointer. After two Bearcat free throws, a layup from senior Mia San Nicolas, followed by another three-pointer from Milroy, pulled Geneva to within 26-23 three minutes into the quarter.
Saint Vincent pushed the lead back to seven points a minute later, but the Golden Tornadoes scored nine straight points to take their first lead of the game, 32-30, with 3:24 remaining. Barricklow hit two free throws, San Nicolas scored inside, Bucheit hit her third three-pointer of the game to pull Geneva even, and then San Nicolas drained two free throws to finish the stretch. The two teams eventually went into halftime tied at 35-35.
The strong outside shooting continued in the second half as San Nicolas opened the second half with a three-pointer. The teams alternated buckets over the next three minutes before a three-pointer from freshman Aizlyn Thompson four minutes into the half gave Geneva a lead it would ultimately never relinquish. Three minutes later, Bucheit's fourth three-pointer of the game extended the Golden Tornado lead to 51-44. Saint Vincent answered with a bucket, but back-to-back three-pointer from junior Abby Shoaff pushed the Geneva advantage into double digits for the first time, 57-46, before a Bearcat layup cut the Golden Tornado lead to 57-48 heading into the final break.
Shoaff continued her hot hand on the opening possession of the fourth quarter with another three-pointer, and the Geneva lead never dipped below double digits again. Two free throws from San Nicolas extended the margin to 67-52 just over three minutes into the quarter. Every time Saint Vincent tried to string together a run, the Golden Tornadoes had an answer. A three-pointer from Thompson and a free throw from Milroy gave the women their biggest lead of the game with a little over a minute to go, 80-61, before Geneva closed out the impressive 80-66 victory.
San Nicolas finished with another double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Milroy also added 19 points. Bucheit had her best game of the season, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep, while Thompson also added 12 points. Geneva shot just 25-of-81 (30.9%) from the floor, but over half of its made shots were three-pointers, with the Golden Tornadoes finishing 13-of-37 (35.1%) from deep. Geneva won the battle of the boards, 59-55, while committing just nine turnovers.
Saint Vincent hit 25-of-75 (33.3%) from the floor, but just 5-of-26 (19.2%) from deep. Emily Thompson led all scorers with 21 points.
The women will have a quick turnaround with a home game scheduled against Hiram on Monday at 6:00 p.m. The game marks Geneva's fifth game in a ten-day stretch.
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).
