BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team's home finale on Wednesday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse against Grove City came down to the final seconds, but the ball didn't bounce the Golden Tornadoes' way and the Wolverines escaped with an 80-77 victory despite a fervent comeback attempt by Geneva.  The loss officially eliminates the women from postseason play, dropping their record to 10-14 overall, 7-12 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).  Grove City improved to 15-9, 13-6 in the PAC.

The women came out well offensively, with Geneva scoring the opening two baskets of the game on buckets from junior Anna Ulmer and senior Mackenzie Barricklow.  The women eventually stretched their lead to 9-4 on a three-pointer from Ulmer and a layup from junior Emily Garvin, just over two minutes into the game.

The offense went cold, though, over the next nine minutes of game time, and Grove City took advantage.  Geneva scored just two points over that nine-minute stretch, including the opening minute of the second quarter, allowing the Wolverines to put together a 14-2 run to grab an 18-11 lead before a three-pointer from senior Abby Shoaff went through.

Shoaff's three-pointer did little slow down Grove City, though, as Geneva could not get its offense on track in the opening half.  The Wolverines eventually took a 44-31 lead into the break.

Grove City scored the opening two buckets of the second half to stretch its lead to the biggest of the night, 48-31, and it looked like Geneva might be in for a long night.  But the Golden Tornadoes responded with a 12-point burst over the next three minutes to get back into the game.  Garvin converted a three-point play, followed by a layup, Ulmer scored, and then Barricklow knocked down a three-pointer and two free throws to quickly pull Geneva within 50-45 midway through the third quarter.

Two minutes later, a three-pointer from Shoaff and two free throws by freshman Alexandra Cozzens pulled Geneva within one point, 53-52, but the women could never pull even or retake the lead.

The rest of the game saw a pattern of Grove City pushing its lead back to five or six points, with Geneva responding to close back within one point.  The Golden Tornadoes even had multiple possessions down one point with a chance to retake the lead, but Geneva could never convert on some good looks.

Grove City eventually stretched its lead back to six points, 77-71, with 1:31 left in the game, but Geneva had one last push.  The women put together a 6-1 run to pull within one point, 78-77, after a layup from Garvin with eleven seconds remaining.  Sophomore Aizlyn Thompson then stole the Grove City inbounds play, and Geneva called timeout with eight seconds left to set up a potential game winning play.

Geneva got the ball to Garvin, the leading scorer in the PAC, and she drove the baseline and appeared to have a lane to the hoop, but she lost her balance as she dribbled through contact as she neared the basket, and the ball trickled out of bounds with just seconds left.  Grove City made two late free throws to seal the win, 80-77.

Garvin was the standout again for Geneva, finishing with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.  Barricklow also had a big night, contributing 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assist.  Shoaff also reached double figures with 12 points on four three-pointers.  As a team, Geneva shot 28-of-72 (38.9%) from the floor, 8-of-33 (24.2%) from the floor. 

Mara Polczynski led Grove City for most of the night, finishing with a game-high 27 points for the Wolverines on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Geneva will finish out its season on Saturday with a road game at Franciscan, beginning at 1:00 p.m.