The Lancaster Bible women's basketball team played a full 40 minutes and in-turn won perhaps it's most important game so far this season as the Chargers downed Penn St. Abington, 56-43 on Wednesday night at Horst Athletic Center. The victory moves the Chargers to 14-3 overall and 12-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play and also pushes their lead in the NEAC South Division to 1 1/2 games over Penn St. Abington. 

Wednesday's affair was by no means a pretty one as both teams went through long stretches with no buckets. It was however a grind out type of game, something Lancaster Bible has excelled at this season and something they are growing more comfortable with. 

The game was a close one for much of the first half as the Chargers maintained a slim lead for much of the first 20 minutes. A late run by the Chargers however pushed the home team's lead to 11 points at halftime. Though Lancaster Bible was just 11-of-26 from the field in the first half, the Chargers were 13-of-16 from the free throw line and took advantage of the early foul trouble the Nittany Lions found themselves in. 

Penn St. Abington's Jessica Schmidt cut the deficit to nine, 36-27, just nine seconds into the second half, but those would be only points scored by either team for the next 8:30. From turnovers and steals to fouls and missed shots, neither team could establish anything offensively. 

"I wasn't worried about the fact we couldn't score," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Rachel Steinbarger said. "We were getting stops defensively and setting the tone on that end of the floor. That's the mindset I want the girls to have and as long as we are getting stops, I'm not overly concerned about our offense."

Kirsten Webster finally scored Lancaster Bible's first points of the second half at the 11:21 mark as she drained a 3-pointer and gave Lancaster Bible a 39-27 lead. Both teams began to find some offense after Webster broke the drought, but Penn St. Abington could not get closer than eight points as the Chargers defense continued to force Abington into tough shots. 

Lancaster Bible connected on just six shots from the floor in the second half, but once again used the free throw line to its advantage as the Chargers were 7-of-11 from the free throw line the second half and 20-of-27 for the game.

Junior Aubrey Folger finished with 12 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks, while Shanice Smith had 14 points and 17 boards. 

"Their rebounding was unbelievable tonight and offensively, they didn't let the double teams they got bother them too much," Steinbarger said. "They need to keep playing with a presence."

Webster led all scorers with 18 points as she was 5-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Webster also added three rebounds and two assists in her 39 minutes played.

"Kirsten is playing with confidence and she did well helping us into our sets and putting the ball in the hoop," Steinbarger said.

Steinbarger was proud of everyone, specifically the energy and effort the team brought for the entire game.

"We played a full 40 minutes," Steinbarger said. "We've been talking about it all season and tonight the girls put it all together. It's a big win for us."

Senior Meaghan Williams added seven points and four assists for the Chargers, while Katy Stover had five points, four rebounds and two assists. 

Janaiah Elum led Penn St. Abington (13-3, 10-2 NEAC) with 16 points. 

The Chargers are back in action on Thursday when they host Valley Forge at 7 p.m.

Notes:
-Lancaster Bible has not lost since losing at Penn St. Abington on January 10.

-The Chargers are a perfect 7-0 at home this season and have not lost a home regular season NEAC contest since February 16, 2012.