Bethany upends Geneva, 79-55

Steve Janik, Assistant Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (Jan. 25) - The Bethany Women's basketball team defeated Geneva 79-55 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup on Wednesday night.

With the win, Bethany improves to 10-8, 8-3 PAC, while Geneva falls to 1-10 in league play 4-14 overall.

Leading the Bison was sophomore guard Sammie Weiss with 22 points along with six rebounds followed by senior guard Hayley Holenka (Shadyside, Ohio/Shadyside) who added 21 points with five rebounds, six steals, and five assists. Junior forward Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) tallied her 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards, while junior forward Kelsi Settle (Sebring, Ohio/Sebring) fell just short of a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.

In the first half, the two played close in the opening minutes. With Geneva having a 7-4 lead, freshman guard Payge Farmer (Wellsburg, W.Va./Brooke) hit a three to tie it up with 5:18 to play in the first quarter. The visitors held their biggest lead of the contest 15-9 with 3:42 to play before The Green and White ripped off an 8-1 run to head into the second quarter with the 17-16 lead.

After the Golden Tornadoes tied it up at 19 to start the second quarter, Bethany worked their lead up to seven at 28-21, capped off by a Weiss layup with 6:15 left in the half. The Bison maintained at least a five point advantage into the break. 

The hosts pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back. A Holenka steal and fast break basket jumped their lead to double-digits at 43-32. The Bison kept up the pace for the rest of the quarter, cruising into the final 10 minutes with a 65-40 lead.

Bethany also won the battle on the boards pulling in 50 rebounds to Geneva's 29. 

Next up, Bethany travels to Westminster on Saturday for a game set to tip at 5:30p.m.