Box Score Trailing 44-28 at halftime, the Lancaster Bible women's basketball team did everything it could over the final 20 minutes to fight its way back into the game and sure enough, everything worked. However, in order to make everything work, the Chargers expended a lot of energy and got into foul trouble and with the game tied at 72-72 with six seconds to play, Central Christian drove the length of the floor and Brigett Arends converted a layup with 0.6 seconds remaining. 

Lancaster Bible's last chance heave from halfcourt was off the mark and for the second straight season at the NCCAA Division II National Tournament, the Chargers lost a close game and saw their chances at a national title go up in smoke as they fell to Central Christian, 74-72 in Joplin, Mo. 

Central Christian's offense was on fire in the first half as they shot 15-of-30 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line en route to a 16-point halftime advantage. The Chargers meanwhile shot just 10-of-28 and dug its deepest halftime hole of the season. 

After Central Christian scored the first bucket of the second half to increase its lead to 46-28, the Chargers used a 15-0 run over the next 4:03 to cut the Saints lead to 46-43. During the 15-0 run, junior Aubrey Folger converted a layup and for her 10th point of the contest and in the process became the program's all-time leader in points scored with 1,517. The previous record of 1,516 was set by Lauren Heliger (2009-13) in 108 games, while Folger broke the record on Friday night, her 88th game in a Lancaster Bible uniform.

Lancaster Bible took a 51-50 lead on a 3-pointer from Katy Stover just two minutes later, but Central Christian battled and eventually took a 70-62 lead with 5:20 to play. A 10-2 run by the Chargers over the next four minutes tied the score at 72-72 and 39 minutes of hard work by both teams culminated in a very exciting final minute of play.

Central Christian had the ball twice in the first 30 seconds of the final minute, but missed two free throws and a jumper to give the Chargers the ball with the shot clock turned off. A charging foul was called on Stover with six seconds to play as she drove to the basket and the Saints got the ball under 94 feet from their basket. After the ball was knocked out of bounds by Lancaster Bible, the Saints drove much of that 94 feet and Katelynn Frazier found Arends under the basket for the game-winning lay-in. 

The loss drops the Chargers to 23-6 this season and they will face 4th-seeded Kentucky Christian in Saturday's NCCAA Div. II 3rd Place Game. The Saints move on to the NCCAA Div. II National Championship where they will face top-seeded Arlington Baptist. 

Folger finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, while Shanice Smith added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Stover had 19 points and five boards and Kirsten Webster had seven points.

"The girls fought hard and did a great job getting back into the game in the second half," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Rachel Steinbarger said. "Aubrey was excellent and Katy had a terrific second half."

Steinbarger said despite the loss, the Chargers will be ready for Saturday's game with Kentucky Christian.

"We want to end the season with a win," Steinbarger said. "We can't win the title, but ending the season with a win will be a great way to end the year."

Saturday's game is scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m.

Notes:
-With her 19 points, Stover now has 1,076 for her career and needs just two points to move into fourth place on the program's all-time scoring list.

-Lancaster Bible is 0-2 all-time against Kentucky Christian.