The last time the Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team won three straight games, George W. Bush was the President of the United States, the Giants and Patriots had not yet played their first Super Bowl and yours truly was a junior in college.

Heading into Thursday night's game against arch-rival Philadelphia Biblical, the Chargers had a chance to end the streak and win their third straight game. They had struck out in two previous attempts earlier this season and a win Thursday would not only be their third straight, but it would also put them at the .500 mark for the first time since December 7 when they were 2-2.

The game itself was not a classic, as the teams combined for 47 turnovers, but four LBC players scored in double figures for the second time this season and LBC defeated PBU, 62-55 for their third straight victory.

LBC [8-8 overall, 7-4 NEAC] had its second half 10-point lead cut to two with 4:20 to play, but held off the Crimson Eagles by scoring eight of the game's final 11 points to secure the win. Lauren Heliger and Emily Lloyd each had 16 points to pace the Chargers, while Sarah Heilenman and Brooklyn Wilson each added 13 points.

"The balanced scoring was great," LBC Head Coach Doug Helsel said. "Brooklyn's 3-pointers were exactly what we needed and Emily and Sarah working down low really helped us. Heliger, as always, kept us going."

Even though they had four players score in double digits, Helsel thought the team did well on the defensive side of the court as well.

"We did a good job defensively in the paint," Helsel said. "I thought Heilenman and Lloyd did well against Bradley-Wilson."

Danielle Bradley-Wilson, PBU's best player, had 16 points and 12 rebounds, but very few of her buckets were easy and Heilenman and Lloyd made her work for every point.

The win is not only nice because the streak is over, but because it is a goal the team set out to accomplish prior to the season beginning.

"It gives the girls confidence to complete one of the goals we set for ourselves," Helsel said. "We hustled for a lot of our points tonight and when we can accomplish team goals, it's a good thing."

LBC will look to make it four straight on Saturday when they travel to Reading, Pa. to take on NEAC South Division foe Penn St. Berks at 3 p.m.

Win or lose, the Chargers staked their claim to a three-game winning streak on Thursday and accomplished a team goal. Here's hoping it doesn't take another five years to win three straight again.

Notes:
-LBC has defeated the Crimson Eagles four straight times after losing the previous eight meetings.