The Lancaster Bible women's basketball team hosting Wells in the North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs has become such a late winter tradition that it could probably go on the calendar along side President's Day and Valentine's Day. OK, so maybe it isn't that rich of a tradition, but the Chargers and Express will meet in the postseason for the third straight year on Tuesday as the teams will renew their rivalry in the NEAC Quarterfinals at Horst Athletic Center.

The Chargers cruised to a 69-50 victory over Wells two seasons ago in the NEAC Semifinals, but Wells returned the favor last season as the Express shocked the Chargers, 67-60 in the NEAC Final to earn their first ever NCAA Division III National Tournament berth and leave Lancaster Bible stunned on its home floor. This season, the Chargers once again won the NEAC South Division title as they finished 18-2 in conference play en route to their third straight division championship. Wells on the other hand had to wait until the final day of the regular season to see if it had made the playoffs as they earned the final spot in the NEAC playoffs because of their 93-76 regular season victory over Penn College. (The final NEAC playoff berth was decided between the fourth place teams in each division. Once the standings were final, the winner of the regular season game between the fourth place teams earned the final playoff spot.)

Lancaster Bible defeated Wells, 57-47 on January 24 in Aurora, N.Y. in the only meeting between the teams this season. In that game, Lancaster Bible junior Aubrey Folger who leads the team with 18.5 points per game, had a season-low eight points. It was the only time in 25 games this season that Folger has been held to single digits. Shanice Smith picked up the slack that day as she scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while fellow junior Katy Stover added 17 points. Kirsten Webster also had a big game that day as she poured in 14 points. 

Lancaster Bible turned the ball over 28 times against Wells during the regular season matchup, but Wells scored just 16 points off of those turnovers. Despite their lack of scoring, the Chargers out-rebounded the Express, 39-21 and caused 18 Wells turnovers. 

On January 24, the Express got 18 points from Holli Erkson, while Kaitlynne Knapp added 10 points. Wells shot just 16-of-46 that day as they were 8-of-23 in each half. While it's fine to look at the regular season contest and see how the teams compare, Lancaster Bible Head Coach Rachel Steinbarger knows the playoffs will be different, especially because of the history between the two teams.

"Tuesday is a big game," Steinbarger said. "The girls who were on the team last season will never be able to fully avenge last year's loss, but winning on Tuesday would help just a little bit. They want to play well and I know they will be ready."

With the possibility of three games this week, Steinbarger knows it is easy to overlook Tuesday's game and look ahead to the NEAC Final Four this weekend.

"It's cliche, but we have to take one game at a time this week," Steinbarger said. "We can't look to go 3-0 this week. We have to look at it as going 1-0, 1-0, 1-0. I think the first 15 minutes of Tuesday's game will let us all know what frame of mind we are in."

As the playoffs get started, Steinbarger was asked if she wants the team preparing for an opponent or focusing more on things the Chargers can control.

"All of the focus is on us," Steinbarger said. "If we play well for 40 minutes, I like our chances against anyone."

Tuesday's game can be seen here: LIVE VIDEO

Wells Information:
Record: 9-14, 8-10 NEAC
Home: 7-5
Away: 2-7
Neutral: 0-2

Wells Leaders:
Points Per Game: Holli Erkson, 13.9
Rebounds Per Game: Lindsay Achzet, 5.6
Assists Per Game:Jessilyn Artaho-Aki, 2.9
Shooting Percentage: Kaitlynne Knapp, 40.7% (83-of-204)
Wells Season Statistics

Lancaster Bible Information:
Record: 21-4
Home: 11-0
Away: 10-4

Lancaster Bible Leaders:
Points Per Game: Aubrey Folger, 18.5
Rebounds Per Game: Shanice Smith, 13.1
Assists Per Game: Kirsten Webster, 3.1
Shooting Percentage: Aubrey Folger, 52.3% (192-of-367)
Lancaster Bible Season Statistics