Lady Barons basketball loses by 3 points to Geneva

Liam Fanning
Staff Writer

The Lady Barons basketball team lost a home game 70-67 against the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The first quarter began slowly for the Lady Barons. As soon as the whistle blew, the Golden Tornadoes took a confident lead, scoring two 3-pointers.

After regaining their footing, the Lady Barons worked to close the gap. Following a 3-pointer from freshman guard Felicia MacGillivray, the quarter ended with the Golden Tornadoes on top, 16-14.

The Lady Barons came out swinging at the start of the second quarter. Moving quickly, they tied the game in the first five minutes of the quarter at 24-24.

Freshman guard Jazzlyn Melnyk sunk a basket to make the score 26-24, giving the Lady Barons their first lead. The game went to the half with the Barons leading 33-29.

Going into the third quarter, the Lady Barons dominated. Within a few minutes, they had widened the gap to seven points.

Despite baskets by freshman center Madison Doan, the Golden Tornadoes rallied and climbed their way back up.

The last few minutes of the quarter were a series of rapid baskets by both teams. The quarter ended with the game tied 49-49.

The fourth quarter would turn out to be a showstopper. The Barons scored a number of baskets in quick succession. A 3-pointer from MacGillivray brought the Lady Barons into the lead. However, by the fourth minute, the Golden Tornadoes had tied the game again at 54-54.

From then on, it was a shooting match for supremacy. As the crowd cheered them on, the Lady Barons fought to stay ahead of the Golden Tornadoes.

A foul shot by Doan put the Lady Barons ahead, but, a second later, the Golden Tornadoes took the lead for the first time in the half with 60 points.

With a little under 2:30 remaining on the clock, the Lady Barons rushed to regain their lead. As the seconds wound down, the score climbed to 67-63, Geneva. With only nine seconds remaining in the game, freshman guard Lauren Arena scored to bring the tally up to 67-65.

However, hope of victory faded as the Golden Tornadoes sunk multiple foul shots. The Lady Barons sunk one more basket in the last second, making the final score 70-67.

The Lady Barons’ next home game will be Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. against the Chatham University Cougars.