BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Women's basketball scored 56 points in the first 20 minutes against Thiel College on Tuesday and maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to come away with an 81-69 win versus the Tomcats. The large halftime advantage proved to be enough to overcome an off-night shooting for the women, who won by 12 points despite hitting just two three-pointers. With the win, the Golden Tornadoes' record improves to 5-2 on the season, 2-0 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, which is the best opening mark to a season through seven games for the women since 2007. On the flip side, Thiel remains winless, having lost its first six games of the season.

Junior Emily Garvin opened the game with two early layups to give the Golden Tornadoes a 4-0 advantage, and junior Anna Ulmer made it 6-2 with a layup just 90 seconds later. The Tomcats scored a couple of baskets to pull in front briefly, 7-6, but another bucket from Ulmer with seven minutes to play in the first quarter gave the lead back to Geneva, an advantage the GTs would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

That Ulmer layup would spark an 18-0 run for the women that put them in front 24-7 with 1:31 to play in the opening frame. The GTs did it all by finding open looks inside the three-point arc, playing patiently and not settling for difficult shots from distance. Thiel hit a couple of free throws to break Geneva's scoring streak, but senior Mackenzie Barricklow and Garvin each hit a shot before the quarter break to give the women a 28-9 lead.

The second quarter was just as high scoring for Geneva. Freshman Jessie Moon and Barricklow hit a couple of shots to give the women their first 20-point lead, and the GTs did not look back for the rest of the half. Freshman Libby Mallah came off the bench to knock down a three-point shot midway through the quarter, and some excellent play by Garvin and freshman Alexandra Cozzens allowed Geneva to push its lead to 56-28 by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.

Ulmer began the third quarter with a layup, but after that the GTs seemed to go ice cold from the field. The Tomcats ripped off a 13-0 run to cut into the score, but Geneva took the blow and responded by way of a few nice drives highlighted by two layups from sophomore Monica Lammie. Thiel ended the quarter on a nice 9-2 run, but the Golden Tornadoes still led by 19 heading into the final period of action.

Another 10-0 Tomcat run defined the first part of the fourth quarter, and Geneva had scored just four points through the first six minutes of the frame. Again, Garvin and Ulmer got a few baskets down the stretch to keep the GTs in control, and the women ended up taking the victory 81-69.

Once again, Garvin was the game's leading scorer, notching 21 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Tornadoes. Ulmer followed her up with a career-high 15 points, eight boards, and four blocks, while Cozzens contributed 14 points off the bench. Barricklow stuffed the stat sheet as well, finishing with ten points, ten rebounds, and a game-high six assists. The women shot 40.4% from the field despite making just two shots from behind the arc.

Geneva gets a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, with the team's next game coming on Wednesday, December 4^th at Allegheny College. Tip-off for that game is slated for 6:00 PM.

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).