WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Geneva College women's basketball team tried to rally in the second half for the second night in a row, but the Golden Tornadoes' comeback attempt came up short in the championship game of the McDaniel Tip-Off on Saturday night while falling to the hosts 84-70.

Geneva opened the game with a bucket from senior Mackenzie Barricklow and two free throws by junior Emily Garvin, giving the women a quick 4-0 advantage.  McDaniel responded with six straight points, though, and the Golden Tornado offense struggled to keep pace.  After senior Abby Shoaff knocked down a three-pointer to pull Geneva within 12-11 midway through the first quarter, McDaniel closed the period on an 11-3 run to take a 23-14 lead at the first break.

McDaniel began to pull away in the second quarter, quickly taking its first double-digit lead of the game.  The Green Terror eventually took a commanding 47-27 lead into the halftime break as Geneva shot just 26% from the floor, compared to a 51% effort by McDaniel.

McDaniel pushed its lead to as high as 22 before the Golden Tornadoes tried to rally late in the third quarter.  With the Green Terror leading 63-42, a three-pointer from sophomore Aizlyn Thompson kick-started an 11-1 run that included a pair of buckets from Garvin and was capped off by a three-pointer from freshman Alexandra Cozzens.  That stretch pulled Geneva within 64-53 heading into the fourth quarter.

Geneva cut the deficit to single digits twice, once on a three-point play from freshman Jessie Moon, but two McDaniel three-pointers prevented the Golden Tornadoes from getting any closer and allowed the Green Terror to hold on for the 84-70 win.

Garvin led the Geneva offense with 17 points, while Barricklow and Cozzens each added 13 points.  Barricklow pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, just missing a second straight double-double.

The women will return to action on Tuesday when Geneva travels to Hiram for a 6:30 p.m. contest with the Terriers.