WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva women's basketball team saw their season come to a close Tuesday night, falling in the quarterfinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs to Washington & Jefferson by a score of 80-55. Despite winning four of their last five games to enter the playoffs as the PAC North Division's No. 3 seed, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't keep up with the Presidents' high-scoring offense. They end their season with an overall record of 10-16, finishing 7-9 in PAC play.
The women struggled to score at the outset of the game, and they didn't sink their first field goal until senior
Emily Garvin got a layup to fall almost three and a half minutes into the first quarter. Thankfully, the GTs' defense picked up the slack, holding the Presidents to just six points during that span, and another Garvin bucket on Geneva's next possession brought them within one point, 6-5. W&J began to pull away slightly as the period wound on, outscoring the GTs 11-3 during one three-minute stretch late in the quarter. The Presidents led 24-15 at the end of one quarter.
After the Golden Tornadoes failed to make a three-pointer in the first quarter, junior
Aizlyn Thompson came alive from behind the arc in the second. She kept the women close with W&J for much of the frame, going 4-for-6 from long range. Her last make of the quarter came at the 2:05 mark and pulled Geneva within seven points, but the Presidents scored the last four points of the frame to take a 47-36 lead into the half.
Garvin made a layup on Geneva's first offensive possession of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to nine points, but that would be the only time the women were within single digits of W&J for the rest of the game. The Presidents outscored the GTs 10-1 over the next three minutes, and extended their advantage up to 67-46 by the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter proved to be another defensive frame, with neither side scoring more than two points through the first four minutes of the period. The Golden Tornadoes couldn't do much to penetrate the hosts' defense, and they were not able to mount a comeback attempt, falling 80-55.
The women found it hard to make shots all evening long, shooting just 19-for-66 (28.8%) from the field compared to a 25-for-52 (48.1%) effort from W&J. The Presidents also took 32 free throws compared to Geneva's 20 attempts.
In the final game of her collegiate career, Garvin led the team with 19 points, notching four rebounds and four steals as well in the loss. She finishes her career as one of the best players in program history, and despite playing only two seasons at Geneva, ends with 957 points in a Golden Tornado uniform, having eclipsed the 1,000 career-points milestone earlier this year.
Thompson finished with 12 points, shooting 4-for-8 from three-point range. Senior
Anna Ulmer, also playing in the final game of her career, finished with a team-high 11 rebounds. W&J's Stellanie Loutsion was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, while her teammate Riley DeRubbo contributed 20 points as well.
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).
