Bison roll past Geneva in PAC Tournament, 69-41

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

• Box Score

BETHANY, W.Va. (Feb. 19) - A strong defensive effort helped the Bethany College women's basketball team earn a 69-41 win over Geneva in the opening round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Monday night at the Hummel Field House.

The Bison, seeded sixth, improve to 12-14 overall and advance to the PAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, February 21 to take on No. 3 seed Saint Vincent at 7 p.m. in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Golden Tornadoes' season concludes at 8-18 overall.

Senior forward Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) dropped her 14th double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bison. Junior guard Ashley Duthie (Madison, Ohio/Madison) registered her first-career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Duthie also added five steals, three assists and a blocked shot to her final line. Freshman Fallon Nicholson (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) ended the night with 10 points and four assists, while senior forward Kelsi Settle (Sebring, Ohio/McKinley) finished with team-highs of 11 rebounds and five assists in the win.

"What a win for this group of ladies, especially our two seniors," Head Coach Brian Sansom said following the victory. "I'm so happy and proud for them and our program! Our focus, energy and effort was on display tonight."

The game was tied at 4-4 through the first five minutes, before a 14-4 spurt, capped off with a Duthie trey, helped the Bison take an 18-8 lead with 1:28 remaining in the opening quarter. Geneva closed the gap to five, 18-13, one minute into the second quarter, but another Bethany run rebuilt the lead. The Bison out-scored Geneva 21-to-4 over the final eight minutes of the first half to establish a 39-17 lead at halftime.

Geneva managed to convert its first three-point shot of the game and got a few more baskets to pull within 13 at 43-26 with 7:10 to play in the third quarter. Bethany answered with six-unanswered points, including a pair of fast-break layups by Nicholson to propel the Bison to a 49-26 lead and force a Geneva timeout with six minutes on the clock. Bethany was held scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, but the Golden Tornadoes were only able to draw within 15, 49-34, entering the final period.

Bethany got its rhythm back in the fourth quarter and put away Geneva. The Bison went on a 17-2 run, including 10-straight to start the quarter, to stretch their lead to 66-36 with five minutes left in the game. The Green & White established its largest lead of the game at 69-37 with 2:40 remaining in regulation, before settling on the 28-point win to advance to the PAC Quarterfinals.

Bethany forced Geneva to attempt tough shots all night and held the Golden Tornadoes to 28 percent (14-of-50) from the floor, including a 10 percent (2-of-21) showing from beyond the arc. The Bison finished with 13 steals and held a 44-to-32 edge on the glass. Bethany's passing was also sharp, as the Bison finished with 20 assists on the night.

The victory is the first PAC Tournament win for the Bison women's basketball team since 2012, when they defeated Westminster 71-52 in the quarterfinals. The 12th win also matches last season's total under Sansom, who is in his second season with the Bison.

Geneva was led by Callie Ford who finished with 20 points and six rebounds in the loss.

Bethany will look to keep its season alive when they travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to take on Saint Vincent in the PAC Quarterfinals at 7 p.m.