Women's Basketball: Bison bounce back with win over Golden Tornadoes

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Bethany College women's basketball team used a strong, balanced offense to cruise past the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes, 83-67 Saturday afternoon.  

GAME FLOW

• Bethany started off sloppy with three turnovers in the first four possessions to start the game allowing Geneva to take an early lead. Makenzee Mason hit a three to put the Bison on the board and Ashleigh Wheeler's layup gave the Green and White the lead. The Bison extended their lead after a 9-0 run but the Golden Tornadoes climbed back to knot the game at 9-9. Back-to-back three-pointers by Alyssa Serensky gave the Bison the lead before the end of the first stanza, 18-14.
• The Golden Tornadoes opened up the second stanza on an 8-0 run to take the lead away from the Bison. Bethany was held scoreless until the 5:21 mark when Ashleigh Wheeler hit a three to cut the deficit to 22-21. The game went back and forth over the last five minutes of the second quarter. Amelia Ferguson knotted the game at 27-27 but Geneva quickly answered regaining the lead. Three-pointers by Ashleigh Wheeler and Taylor Dusenberry gave Bethany a 33-29 lead with under a minute left in the half. Dusenberry extended the Bison lead 35-29 with 27 seconds left.
• Bethany led 35-31 at the half.
• The Bison had a strong shooting performance in the third quarter, outscoring the Golden Tornadoes, 27-12. Seven different Bison scored throughout the third, led by Makenzee Mason and Sophie Morey with seven and six points respectively.  After three, the Bison led 62-43.
• The fourth quarter both teams went back and forth but the large deficit was too much for the Golden Tornadoes to overcome.

IN THE BOX SCORE

• Makenzee Mason and Ashleigh Wheeler led the Bison on offense with 16 points each. Wheeler had six rebounds and five assists. Mason pulled down four rebounds and had two assists and two steals.
• Alyssa Serensky had 11 points.
• Taylor Dusenberry added 11 points.
• Sophie Morey had a team-high nine rebounds and added six points.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Bethany outrebounded Geneva, 53-34. The Bison had 22 offensive boards resulting 20 second chance points.
• Geneva capitalized on Bethany's turnovers, scoring 26 points off turnovers.
• The Bison shot 41.3% (31-75) from the field and 38.9% (14-36) from behind the arc.
• The Green and White had 20 assists off 31 made field goals.

RECORDS

Bethany College – 4-11 (4-6 PAC)

Geneva College – 2-12 (2-7 PAC)

UP NEXT

Bethany returns home on Wednesday, Jan. 11 for a PAC matchup against Washington and Jefferson College. Tip-off is set for 6 pm.