The women's basketball team started their season off with a bang, pulling out two wins last weekend at a tournament hosted by Mt. Aloysius College.
Both Saturday's game against Lynchburg College and Sunday's versus Penn State Beaver ended with a considerable margin of victory for the Knights. On Monday night against RIT, however, the team suffered their first loss of the season after a rally that fell just short at the end.
On Saturday, the Knights took on Lynchburg in the opening round of the Hampton Inn Coaches versus Cancer tournament. After the first half, Geneseo was up 34-20 and managed to shoot 50 percent from the three-point arc and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.
The Knights went on to win by a final score of 76-47, exploding for a 42-point second half. The women managed to hit 50 percent of their field goals in the second half. Sophomore Stephanie Ruback had a game-high eight rebounds, and classmate Briana Dunton scored 20 points of her own.
Sunday's game against Penn State Beaver ended in a similar fashion, with Geneseo coming out on top 78-53. The Knights managed to shoot over 40 percent overall in the game and 38 percent from three-point range.
After the first half the Knights led 37-31 but pulled away in the second, outscoring their opponent 41-22. Junior Khadija Campbell had the team's first double-double of the season, with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Head coach Scott Hemer said he was very proud of his team's performance over the weekend. "We showed signs of doing phenomenal things on the floor," he said. "There are some weaknesses such as our inconsistency in allowing opponents to come back. However, I think that they are a young group that is able to make runs of its own. The tournament was good momentum for our season."
This past Monday at RIT the Knights did not fare nearly as well. Geneseo left the first half trailing by a score of 35-28. The women managed to make a run at the Tigers and narrow the gap to 54-52 late in the game, after going on a 15-2 run.
Nevertheless, Geneseo lost the game by a score of 62-54. The loss can mostly be blamed on failure to capitalize, rather than shooting opportunities. The team shot below 30 percent overall, including an abysmal 5.6 percent from the arc.
"Our players left the game a little bit disappointed because again inconsistent effort and intensity could not eliminate poor mistakes," Hemer said. "When considering not shooting well such as the 1-18 three-point shots hit, we still managed to score 54. Even if we shot as low as 33 percent from three, we would have won by double-digit figures. It was the little things that weren't being done right for 40 minutes. The nice thing is that we'll see how we react defensively after Monday."
The season seems very promising for the Knights who have started their season with a record of 2-1. Hemer said he is enthusiastic for the rest of the season: "I am excited for the season. They are a group of very committed young ladies who enjoy playing together. I hope that with their inexperience they can learn from each game and the scoreboard will take care of itself."
This weekend the Knights go on the road to open up conference play as they take on SUNY Cortland on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by SUNY Oswego on Saturday.