The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team begins its 2016-17 campaign on Tuesday night and much like the Lancaster Bible men's basketball team, it is a year of changes for the women as they welcome several newcomers and say goodbye to program-changing student-athletes. Gone are the first-, second- and fifth-leading scorers in program history, Aubrey Folger, Katy Stover and Shanice Smith, as the Chargers will try and win the North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division for the fifth consecutive season. 

Despite losing 77.7 percent of their points from last season, the Chargers have plenty of reasons to be optimistic, as returners Krissy Pennell and Kirsten Webster are back and newcomers Courtney Goyak, Caitlin Hickey and Emily Morgan should provide plenty of offense as well for Lancaster Bible. The Chargers played in the NEAC Final for the third time in four seasons last year and will look to get back to the title game once again this season, but will have to do it in different ways than in the past. Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff thinks a return trip to the NEAC Final is possible, though it will take some time as the group comes together during the first semester.

The following is a mixture of quotes, information, facts and figures to help set up the 2016-17 version of the Lancaster Bible women's basketball team...

So Long, Farewell: In addition to departures of Folger, Stover and Smith, Lancaster Bible will also be without Alyssa Bowen, Molly Arnold, Mary Finkbeiner and Marisa Jo Abts...Folger finished with a school-record 2,141 points over her illustrious career, while Stover had 1,587 points...Smith had 1,191 points in her four seasons and like Folger, pulled down over 1,000 rebounds as well...Lancaster Bible will once again look to shoot the ball well this season as they finished fifth in field goal percentage in NCAA Division III last season with a mark of 46.1 percent.

Hello!: Goyak (So., Colorado Christian), Hickey (Fr.) and Morgan (Fr.) will be joined this season by Naomi Otis (Sr.), who rejoins the team after not playing last season, as well as Kaylee Boger (Fr.), Sara Bell (So.) and Myranda Kemrer (Jr.).

Dishin' Out Helpers: Senior Krissy Pennell returns as she will look to put together another impressive season after her first year in red and white went down as one of the best in program history...Pennell dished out 229 assists last season, the 17th-most in NCAA Division III history...Her 7.9 assists per game were the second-most in NCAA Division III last season and she had 13 assists in a game three times last season...Pennell also averaged 10.1 points per game and will be looked upon to shoot more this season as well.

Web(ster) of Skills: Also returning is junior Kirsten Webster who averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds last season...Webster, who had a career-high 25 points in a win over Penn College last season, will be looked upon to help on both ends of the floor and continue to provide a spark when the Chargers need it, as she has done in the past.

Vanderhoff's View: Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff likes this season's group and when asked if last season ever comes up, she insisted it never does, because there is hardly anyone around who would know what she is talking about...Below are some of Vanderhoff's other thoughts as the Chargers prepare for 2016-17...

On Moving on from Last Season: "We are adjusting things to what we have on this year's team," Vanderhoff said. "We have lots of young players and we are in the process of teaching them and putting them in the correct places on the court. It's easy when you have three seniors who know the system and you just tell them to go play. We will play the same style, but there will be tweaks because of the experience level for our new players."

On Pennell: "She has the ball every time down the floor and puts people in the spots they need to be in," Vanderhoff said. "She knows what we're looking for and can read things so quickly. She's just a very talented player."

On the Newcomers: "I like their defensive play so far and we are a team that runs on defense, so I'm happy with their progress thus far," Vanderhoff said. "The group as a whole continues to improve and I think we have had a good preseason and scrimmages."

On the Team's Chemistry: "The chemistry will obviously take some time, as everyone is still figuring everyone else out," Vanderhoff said. "We simply need game reps for some of these things and we are going to find out quickly how everyone can respond, as we have some good early opponents."

On this Season's Expectations: "Our non-conference schedule is tough and we will get some good experience against tough competition," Vanderhoff said. "Hopefully we can use that experience to help us in conference play."

Home is Where the Heart Is: Lancaster Bible will play 12 home games this season, including five before Christmas break...The Chargers open with Centennial Conference for Dickinson before hosting December games against Gallaudet, Wilson, Penn St. Berks and Adrian (Mich.)...Lancaster Bible will also host Washington Adventist and Penn College over the Christmas break, before hosting Morrisville State, Cazenovia and St. Elizabeth later in January...The Chargers will wrap-up the home portion of their schedule in February with games against Penn St. Abington and Bryn Athyn at Horst Athletic Center...Lancaster Bible was 14-1 at home last season, with the lone loss coming to SUNY Polytechnic in the NEAC Final...Over the past two regular seasons, the Chargers are 23-0 at home.

Follow the Chargers: Lancaster Bible's home games will once again be broadcast on the Chargers Sports Network and can be found HERE...Road games will have a variety of live video and live stats and can be accessed via the schedule page HERE...Also stay up on things via our social media accounts, specifically TWITTER, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM.