"Excellence is a process, not a product."

Those were the words Lancaster Bible College Women's Basketball Head Coach Doug Helsel told his team prior to their 2010-11 season opener on Monday night. Helsel, in his first season at LBC, wanted his team to know that excellence isn't handed to you overnight, but rather earned over a period time.

There are times when the process is going to be rocky, and the first half of Monday night's game was one of those times. 23 first half turnovers helped lead to 41 points for visiting Penn State Altoona and that spelled doom for the Chargers as they lost their first game of the 2010-11 season, 81-57.

The Nittany Lions (1-0) took a 20-point lead into the half after shooting 59 percent in the first half. Marissa Chapman and Tamara Thomas each had 15 points for Penn State Altoona, who beat the Chargers for the fifth straight time.

Three of LBC's players, Brittney Becker, Lauren Heliger and Emily Lloyd saw action on Monday night, but had not practiced with the team prior to the game. The three ladies were with their fall sports' teams and the NCCAA National Tournament just ended this weekend.

"We aren't making excuses, but I've never heard of having three players see action in a game who have yet to practice," Helsel said. "We are trying to get 10 players into the fold and not having those three practice hurt us in the first half."

Despite a poor first half, the Chargers rebounded in the second half and traded buckets with the Nittany Lions. LBC senior Nicole Karschner finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Lacy McClaine led all scorers with 18 points. Heliger, one of the players who until this morning had been playing with a volleyball, not a basketball, had 12 points.

"I was happy with our post play," Helsel said. "We got a lot of good opportunities from giving the ball to the post."

Helsel was also very happy with his three senior captains, Karschner, McClaine and Vanessa Clemenson.

"They all showed a lot of senior leadership tonight," Helsel said. "Time and time again they showed a willingness to get things done and took charge of our team."

The Chargers shot 40 percent for the game, something they did just three times last season.

LBC will have just one practice to fix their mistakes, as they take on The College of Notre Dame on Wednesday night. Following Wednesday's game, LBC will face arguably their two toughest opponents of the season when they face Cincinnati Christian on Friday and Kentucky Christian on Saturday as part of the Hersha Hospitality Big East Classic at Valley Forge Christian College.

Notes:
-McClaine's 18 points are the most in a single game for an LBC player since last January when Heliger had 22 against Mount Aloysius in an 84-60 loss.

-Karschner recorded double-digit rebounds for the first time since last February when she had 12 during a 69-67 double overtime loss at Valley Forge Christian.