Box Score The Lancaster Bible women's basketball team's magical season came to an end on Friday night as they ran into the buzzsaw that is Messiah College. The Falcons up-tempo, high pressure offense and defense gave the Chargers fits all night as Messiah won, 84-51 to advance to the NCAA Division III Second Round.

The loss ends the most successful season in the 41 years of LBC women's basketball as the Chargers finished the year with a record of 24-5 as they won the North Eastern Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship, as well as the NCCAA East Region title.

Friday night's game tested the emotions of the LBC players and fans from the get-go as the Falcons opened the game on an 8-0 run. Messiah knocked down its first three shots, while LBC began the game with two straight turnovers. Sophomore Sarah Heilenman got the Chargers on the board at the 18:10 mark and LBC was off and running as they answered Messiah's 8-0 run with an 8-0 run of their own. 

Senior Lauren Heliger hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game before the Falcons took a 10-8 lead prior to the first media timeout at 14:50. LBC kept it close, trailing, 17-16 following a jumper by Richelle Kane at 11:36 of the first half, but the Falcons opened up a 15-point lead over the next seven minutes as they used an 18-4 run to blow open the game. Messiah Head Coach Mike Miller thought his team's defense really turned up the heat during the Falcons' run and really frustrated the Chargers.

"Defense is who we are and what we hang our hat on," Miller said. "We got a feel for their guards midway through the first half, and though I wish it hadn't taken that long, I thought we played them tough the rest of the game."

Heliger agreed with Miller as she was guarded close the entire evening and was forced into tough shots.

"I would drive to the basket and [Messiah] helped each other out really well and I couldn't go anywhere," Heliger said. 

The Falcons (24-4) increased their lead by one over the final minutes of the opening half and took a 40-24 advantage into halftime.

Things went from bad to worse for the Chargers in the first 7:18 of the second half as the Falcons went on a 20-4 run to begin the half and the rout was on. 

"We tried to win the segments of each half, with the media timeouts, and I thought we played well for a while, but their depth hurt us and we couldn't match their play," Chargers' Head Coach Doug Helsel said.

Messiah opened up its biggest lead of 37 points on several occasions as both teams cleared their benches in the final minutes. In the end, the Falcons caused LBC to commit a season-high 30 turnovers which resulted in 28 points.

"Messiah is a good team," Helsel said. "They force you into situations you don't like and we just had too many giveaways. I thought we hit a wall in the second half were there was no movement or attack on offense. Messiah works at such a high speed that it gave us no time to rest."

Freshman Aubrey Folger led the Chargers with 17 points and 11 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season. Heliger added 14 points and four assists, while Brooklyn Wilson, Sarah Heilenman, Emily Lloyd and Richelle Kane each added four points. LBC shot 38 percent (19-of-50) from the floor, but was just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Kira Maier led the Falcons with 17 points as well, while Dori Gyori, the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year, had 16 points and nine boards. Taylor Miller added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.

The loss not only ends LBC's season, but the careers of seniors Emily Lloyd and Lauren Heliger. Helsel praised his seniors and their careers after the game.

"Emily has been so dedicated to the team," Helsel said. "She's a great teammate."

Heliger finishes with the greatest career of any women's basketball player in LBC history. She finishes with 1,516 points, 547 rebounds and 347 assists in 108 career games. Her 1,516 points are not only the most of any women's basketball player in LBC history, but she ranks fourth all-time for men's or women's basketball at LBC.

"Lauren has been a mainstay of this program," Helsel said. "She has put this team on her back, time and time again."

Heliger said she couldn't have envisioned the team would be this successful during her four years at LBC.

"We weren't very good my freshman season, but the program flipped and we've gone from not very good, to so-so, to playing well together, to playing well and being athletic," Heliger said. "I came to LBC because I liked the school and I wanted to play volleyball and basketball. This is a great way to finish my career."

The Chargers finish the season as one of the best statistical teams in LBC history. Their 24 wins bested the old record by eight, their 1,857 points scored are a new team record and their 55 points against per game average is the lowest since the 2001-02 season. 

NCAA Tournament / Season Notes:
-Lancaster Bible has the lowest enrollment of any team that made the Women's Basketball NCAA DIvision III National Tournament at 665. Texas-Dallas has the highest enrollment at 19,000.
-25 of the 64 teams that made the tournament had 24 wins or more, including LBC. (DePauw has the most at 28)
-LBC is one of seven teams from the state of Pennsylvania to make the tournament, including Cabrini, Widener, Messiah, Gettysburg, Lebanon Valley and Scranton....Messiah, Lebanon Valley and Widener still remain in the tournament.
-Sam Rempel leads all LBC basketball players with 1,979 points
-Heliger's 481 points this season are a new program record for points in a season
-Folger's 463 points are the third most all-time and the most ever by a freshman