BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva women's basketball team lost a tightly-contested match-up to a talented Allegheny College squad on Wednesday night, 71-65. The GTs kept it close through the first three quarters, but a strong fourth frame from the Gators wound up sinking the women late. Geneva's record now sits at an even 9-9 overall, 6-7 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, while Allegheny continues to roll, moving up to 12-6 overall, 11-2 in the PAC.

The Golden Tornadoes started off the first quarter on fire, hitting shots on their first three possessions of the game. Junior Emily Garvin nailed a three-pointer to give the women an early 7-0 lead, and the women continued to play well despite the Gators hitting a three of their own afterward. Back-to-back layups by Garvin put Geneva in front 11-3, but the visitors climbed back in it and narrowed the gap to one point, 11-10, with 2:45 to play in the quarter.

Senior Abby Shoaff checked into the game at that point and promptly drained two deep three-pointers. Allegheny got a bucket to stop the bleeding for a little bit, but Shoaff struck again with another trey on the next possession. Two Gator baskets closed out the first quarter, but Geneva led 20-16 after one.

Shoaff scored yet again on a layup to begin the second quarter, but the Gators responded with a 12-2 run to seize their first lead of the game. A three-ball from freshman Libby Mallah put the Golden Tornadoes back in front, 32-30. Again, Allegheny responded, and closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 38-32 lead into the break.

Both sides struggled to score out of the half, with a driving layup by freshman Jessie Moon finally getting Geneva on the board two minutes into the period. Allegheny took a seven-point lead at the 7:17 mark, 41-34, but Geneva was quick to recover. The women outscored the visitors 12-2 over the next three and a half minutes, with eight of those points coming off the hand of junior Anna Ulmer. Senior Mackenzie Barricklow scored six consecutive points of her own in the final two minutes to give Geneva an eight-point lead, but Allegheny closed well and only trailed 55-51 as the final quarter break hit.

Unfortunately, the women found themselves in foul trouble early in the fourth quarter, and the taller Allegheny team used that to its advantage, getting several easy looks in the paint. The Gators outscored Geneva 20-10 in the final period of play, and Geneva wound up losing the game 71-65.

Garvin again finished with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, corralling eight rebounds to boot. Barricklow had a massive day on the glass, pulling down a career-best 17 rebounds to go with 14 points and a couple of blocks. Ulmer posted 14 points, five boards, and three blocks, and Shoaff contributed 11 points off the bench for Geneva as well. As a team, the women were just 27-of-77 (35%) from the field, and 7-fo-30 from three-point range. Emily Lauer and Sarah Santicola led the charge for the Gators, scoring 22 and 21 points, respectively. Jess Bickart of Allegheny also had 17 rebounds in the game.

The women will play their next two games at home, taking on Saint Vincent this Saturday, February 1^st, before a contest with Washington & Jefferson next Wednesday. The Saint Vincent matchup is currently scheduled for 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).