NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – A big first quarter for Geneva women's basketball set the pace for the Golden Tornadoes, and they retained the lead all the way through to defeat Westminster College on the road, 86-68. The win broke a five-game losing streak for the GTs, and also secured a season-sweep of the Titans, the first time Geneva has done that against Westminster since the 1997-98 season. Freshman Alexandra Cozzens scored a career-high 28 points in the win, and the women's record is bumped up to 10-12 overall, 7-10 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Westminster, on the flip side, drops to 3-19 on the season, 3-14 in PAC play.

After an opening jumper by Westminster, senior Mackenzie Barricklow gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the game with a three-pointer on Geneva's second possession, and the women never trailed for the rest of the contest. That basket sparked a stretch of 12 consecutive points by the GTs, with Cozzens and sophomore Aizlyn Thompson joining Barricklow in the scoring. After some Titan free throws, a triple from Thompson put Geneva back up double digits, 15-5, and then Cozzens scored on three straight Geneva possessions a few minutes later to make the lead 22-10. Freshman Libby Mallah closed the quarter with another three-ball, and Geneva ended the high-scoring first quarter leading 27-12.

A three-pointer from senior Abby Shoaff three minutes into the second frame put the women in front by 14 points, 32-18, and the difference remained around that mark for most of the quarter. Junior Emily Garvin found consistent success driving to the basket en route to six points on layups, and Cozzens ended the quarter with a fast break layup to give Geneva a 40-27 lead at halftime.

Shoaff pushed the women's lead even further with another trey to make it 48-31 two minutes into the second half, but after Cozzens scored in the paint once more Westminster began to chip away. The home side put together a 15-2 run over the next three minutes to bring the difference all the way down to six points, but a three-ball by Thompson put a stop to Geneva's slide. Cozzens and Garvin took over at that point, scoring the last eight points of the quarter for the Golden Tornadoes, and Geneva got the lead back up to 13 by the end of the period, 63-50.

Westminster kept the deficit right around ten points for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, but the women began to pull away after that. Cozzens sunk a three-pointer to make it a 13-point game, and that began a 10-0 run from the GTs to put things out of reach for the Titans. A triple by sophomore Lisa Popa ended Geneva's win with a bang, and the Golden Tornadoes took the victory 86-68.

Cozzens' 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting led the women, and she also garnered nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Garvin added 14 points on a 7-for-12 night to go along with a team-high 11 boards, and Thompson contributed 13 points off the bench, making three of her five shots from distance. Freshman Destanie McCullough had a team-high five assists in the win. As a team, Geneva shot 36-of-77 (47%) from the field, and won the points-off-turnovers battle with the Titans 20-7.

The women have two big upcoming home games next, hosting Chatham on Saturday, February 15^th before playing Grove City in Metheny Fieldhouse on Wednesday. The Golden Tornadoes will need to win at least one of those contests to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Chatham game is scheduled to begin at 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).