HIRAM, Ohio – Sophomore Arionna White and senior Emily Garvin had huge nights for the Geneva College women's basketball team on Wednesday night at Hiram, leading a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Terriers 84-79.  The victory clinched a spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs which begin next week and improved Geneva's record to 9-15 overall, 6-9 in the PAC.

Junior Aizlyn Thompson knocked down a couple early three-pointers to give the women an 8-6 lead in the opening minutes, and the game stayed close for most of the opening quarter.  A three-pointer from freshman Kassandra Garcia gave the women their biggest lead to that point, 20-16, with a minute left in the period, but Hiram closed the quarter with seven straight points to take the lead at the first break.

Hiram was unusually hot from the perimeter in the first half, and when Geneva's offense cooled off in the second quarter, the Terriers took advantage by building a 33-24 lead after Hiram's Sarah Seaman knocked down back-to-back three-pointers midway through the period.  White kept Geneva in the game with strong shooting of her own, and two free throws with a second left in the half pulled the women within 42-38 at the break.  The Terriers made seven of their first nine three-pointers in the first half, including all four attempts by Seaman.

Geneva struggled to gain much ground in the third quarter, despite White continuing to score consistently for the women.  The Hiram advantage hovered between three to seven points for most of the frame, and a jumper from Seaman at the buzzer gave the Terriers a 58-52 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Hiram maintained a slim lead for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter before the Golden Tornadoes finished the game with a flurry.  A three-pointer and a jumper from White, and layup from Garvin, gave Geneva a seven-point burst that allowed the women to grab their first lead since the first quarter, 69-65.

Seaman, who made her first six three-pointers of the game, followed with a jumper to pull Hiram within two, but the Terriers could not slow down White and Garvin.  Garvin answered with a bucket, then stole the ball and laid it in for a six-point lead.  Another jumper from White and bucket from Garvin extended the Geneva lead to 77-69 with a minute remaining, and despite some late long-range shots from Hiram, the women converted their free throws to hold on for the 84-79 victory.

Geneva totaled 32 points in the final quarter, outscoring Hiram by 11 in the decisive final ten minutes.  Garvin and White combined for 28 of those points, including Geneva's last 22 points of the game.

White finished her night with a career-high 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the floor.  That's the most points by a Geneva women's player since Taylor Milroy scored 37 points at Bethany two years ago. 

After a slow start for Garvin that saw the standout total just four points through the first three quarters, she finished the night 18 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, while adding eight assists and six steals.  That is the most rebounds for a women's player since Lauren Tipton pulled down 27 rebounds against Thiel in 2020.

Garcia added 11 points for the women who shot 31-of-82 (37.8%) from the floor, 9-of-28 (32.1%) from three-point range. 

Seaman led the Terriers with a career-high 30 points.

Geneva wraps up its regular season on Saturday with a home contest against Westminster at 1:00 p.m.  The women will celebrate their seniors prior to the game.