BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Geneva fought hard against Chatham University's women's basketball team, but they could not break through down the stretch against the PAC-leading Cougars, suffering a 94-76 defeat. Geneva falls to 7-10 overall, 6-6 in conference play, while Chatham's 14^th straight win pushed its record to 15-2 overall, 11-1 in the PAC.

Both teams traded buckets early, with an Aizlyn Thompson three-pointer and Taylor Milroy layup making the score 5-5 after two and a half minutes. Chatham then went on a 16-6 run to end the first quarter as Geneva struggled to keep the ball under control and make baskets.

Things looked a little better offensively for Geneva in the second quarter, especially after a Milroy three-pointer and Bailee Fletcher layup brought the Golden Tornadoes back within eight. However, a couple Chatham three-pointers pushed their lead back into the double digits, where it would remain for the rest of the game. Geneva went into the halftime break down 20 points, 49-29.

Again, both teams went back and forth to start the third quarter, with a couple of nice post moves from Mia San Nicolas allowing Geneva to keep the deficit under 20. Then, just over halfway through the quarter, Geneva went on a 13-8 run to finish the frame, buoyed by some brilliant shooting by Thompson who went 3-of-4 from behind the arc in one four-minute span. By the time the quarter ended, the Golden Tornadoes were back within 12 points.

Unfortunately, their third quarter success did not carry over into the final 10 minutes, in which Chatham outscored Geneva 26-20. Cougar guard Charjae Brock led the charge, scoring 10 fourth quarter points en route to handing Geneva their sixth conference loss. San Nicolas had six points for Geneva in the final period, but it was not enough to close the gap.

Thompson finished with a career-high 17 points on 6-8 shooting, including 5-7 from beyond the three-point line. She also tied her career-high with seven rebounds. Taylor Milroy posted a good stat line as well with 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists. San Nicolas and Fletcher rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Charjae Brock led Chatham with 22 points and eight assists.

Geneva is back at home on Saturday to face Grove City College at 1:00 p.m. in a game that could very well have heavy playoff consequences down the stretch of the season.  The women are on the road next week with games at Franciscan and Allegheny.