GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's basketball team forced Thiel into 47 turnovers using its full court pressure defense, earning a much-need victory over the Tomcats, 100-66, to break a six-game losing streak. The Golden Tornadoes improved to 4-10 overall, picking up their first victory in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) to improve to 1-4 in the PAC.
Sophomore Arionna White provided the spark offensively for Geneva early, knocking down three triples in the first four minutes to enable the Golden Tornadoes to grab an early 10-6 lead.
The Tomcats responded with a run to grab a 14-12 advantage before the Golden Tornado full court pressure really took over. Thiel had a hard time getting the ball over midcourt the rest of the half, and Geneva took advantage of the backcourt turnovers to finish the quarter on a 17-2 run, taking a 29-16 lead at the first break. Most of Geneva's points came on open layups after forcing Thiel turnovers.
Geneva held a similar lead for most of the second quarter, generating points off its pressure defense, and a late spurt sent the Golden Tornadoes into the break with a 50-32 advantage. White led the offense with 16 points, which already surpassed her prior career high of 13 points, while seniors Emily Garvin and Anna Ulmer each added ten points in the half.
The women continued to hassle the Tomcats in the second half, turning turnovers into easy buckets. Thiel never got back into the game as Geneva steadily increased its lead throughout the final 20 minutes. The only question late in the game was whether the women would reach the century mark, which they did with a bucket from freshman Averi Marshall with a minute to go, capping off the 100-66 win.
White led five Golden Tornadoes in double figures with a career high 21 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from deep. Junior Aizlyn Thompson totaled 17 points, Garvin stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 assists, Ulmer added 14 points and sophomore Destanie McCullough 12 points. As a team Geneva shot 39-of-102 (38.2%) from the floor, 11-of-45 (24.4%) from three-point range.
Kayley Risser led Thiel with 14 points. The Tomcats shot 25-of-57 (43.9%) from the floor, 1-of-9 (11.1%) from deep.
Geneva will try to make it two straight wins on Saturday when the women host Waynesburg inside Metheny Fieldhouse 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).
