BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Jan. 15) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) road game at Geneva on Saturday featured plenty of massive momentum swings over its 40 minutes of play. The Yellow Jackets dominated the first and fourth quarters, while the Golden Tornadoes owned the middle of the contest. By the time the dust settled, it was the homestanding GT's who pulled out a 79-78 triumph.
 
Waynesburg (1-11, 1-5) sprinted out of the gates and built up a 16-6 lead after just four minutes of play. That advantage swelled to 17 points on multiple occasions and by the time the opening quarter came to a close, the Jackets found themselves ahead 33-18.
 
Trailing 38-23 2:21 into the second quarter, Geneva (5-5, 4-1) clawed its way back into the contest with a 15-2 run that made the score 40-38 Waynesburg with 2:52 remaining until halftime. A three-pointer by Jacket sophomore Avery Robinson (Ravenna, Ohio / Ravenna) slowed the surge, but the host team tallied the final seven points of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating three pointer that gave Geneva the lead at 45-34 heading into the break.
 
While the trip to the locker room seemed to slow the GT's offensive momentum, Waynesburg wasn't able to take advantage and the visitors found themselves down 51-43 before a free throw from senior guard Kacey Kastroll (South Park, Pa. / South Park) gave the Jackets their first point of the half. Geneva appeared ready to put the game well out of reach with just over a minute remaining in the third, as it led 64-48.
 
However, Waynesburg wasn't ready to give up the fight just yet, and seemed to recapture some of its spark from the first quarter as it tallied the final five points of the period. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Jackets trailed 64-53.
 
Waynesburg began that final period by attacking the paint and connecting on three-straight layups, two by freshman Madisen Dayton (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Calvary Christian Academy) and one by senior center Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton), which cut the deficit to just seven points at 64-59. Over the next 3:32, nearly all of the offense from both sides came at the free throw line. The Jackets took advantage from the charity stripe by connecting on five-of-seven tries and with 4:30 showing on the game clock, they trailed by just a single point (67-66).
 
The two conference foes traded scores down the stretch run of the evening and with 18 seconds left, Geneva held a slim 77-75 edge. Unfortunately for the visitors, the Golden Tornadoes connected on a back-breaking layup with 11 seconds left to play. Junior guard Anika Dansby (Massilon, Ohio / Washington) connected on a three-pointer with one second left on the clock, but it was too little, too late for the Orange and Black.
 
The Jacket offense was led by the inside-outside duo of Fuller and Robinson. The former logged her fifth double-double of the season on 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Robinson poured in a game-high 21 points, 18 of which came on six successful three-point attempts in 12 tries. She added five rebounds and five assists to a productive day's work.
 
Speaking of rebounds, Kastroll pulled down 12 of them to go along with eight points, while Dansby racked up a game-high eight assists. Dayton tallied 10 points to lead the Jacket reserves.
 
Waynesburg outscored Geneva 58-33 in the first and fourth quarters, combined, but was outdone 46-20 in the middle 20 minutes of play. The Jackets also held rather sizeable advantages in rebounding (54-42) and assists (21-14).
 
The Jackets face another stern road test on Wednesday, Jan. 19, when they travel to Bethany. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.