The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team wrapped up the first semester with an 83-79 loss to Adrian College (Mich.) on Thursday afternoon at Horst Athletic Center. The loss drops the Chargers to 4-4 overall, while the Bulldogs improved to 5-3. 

How it Happened: Adrian jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the opening 3:20 as a 3-pointer from Sadia Johnson and a layup from Angelina Goosby gave the Bulldogs a six-point lead. Lancaster Bible responded with an 8-2 run capped by freshman Kaylee Boger's 3-pointer that gave the Chargers a 14-13 lead. The Bulldogs rebuilt their five-point lead on a layup from Johnson at 21-16 with 1:58 remaining in the opening quarter. In a quarter that featured dueling scoring runs by each team, the Chargers closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run and took a 27-21 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Freshman Caitlin Hickey had six of the 11 points during the run that was once again capped by a 3-pointer from Boger.

The Chargers weren't finished as they opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run and during the final two minutes of the first quarter and first 2:29 of the second, Lancaster Bible outscored Adrian, 19-0. Three-pointers from Hickey and Krissy Pennell sandwiched a jumper from Emily Morgan as Lancaster Bible took a 35-21 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half. Lancaster Bible took its biggest lead of the half, 43-30 after Morgan hit one of two free throws with 1:33 left in the second quarter and the Chargers led, 45-33 at halftime.

Like the second quarter, the Chargers opened the third quarter with another scoring run as a 7-2 run gave Lancaster Bible a game-high 17-point lead, 52-35, after a 3-pointer from Hickey. After Lancaster Bible restored its 17-point lead a minute later, 58-41, Adrian's offense began to get hot and the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to cut the Chargers' lead to seven, 58-51. The teams exchanged buckets the rest of the quarter and the Chargers took a nine-point lead, 67-58 into the fourth quarter.

It was Adrian who opened the fourth quarter on a scoring run as the Bulldogs scored the quarter's first six points to trim their deficit to three, 67-64. After a layup from Hickey gave Lancaster Bible a 71-67 lead with 6:21 to play, the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to grab their first lead since the opening quarter as Johnson and Kennedy Kunce each knocked down a pair of free throws to end the run.

The teams exchanged buckets again and Lancaster Bible re-took the lead, 78-77 on a 3-pointer from Boger with 2:31 to play. Johnson hit one of two free throws to knot the game at 78-78 with 43 seconds left, but Pennell gave Lancaster Bible its lead back, 79-78, with 29 ticks left after she hit one of two from the charity stripe.

With Lancaster Bible rebounding-extraordinaire, Courtney Goyak, on the bench with five fouls, Adrian grabbed two late offensive boards and Johnson came up with the ball and converted a layup and the adjoining free throw to give the Bulldogs an 81-79 lead with 11 seconds to play. With no timeouts remaining, Lancaster Bible raced down the floor, but Pennell's runner would not go and Starnisha Harris grabbed the rebound and put the game away with two free throws on the other end with three seconds remaining.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc...Adrian shot 37.7 percent (29-of-77) from the field, but was 17-of-21 from the free throw line...Lancaster Bible turned the ball over 21 times and was out-rebounded 44-34, including 22-9 on the offensive glass...Each team had 36 points in the paint...Hickey finished with a team-high 21 points and added five rebounds and four assists...Pennell had 16 points and a career-high 14 assists...Goyak had 15 points and 17 rebounds, including eight of the Chargers' nine offensive rebounds...Morgan added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Boger had 11 points and was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc...Johnson had a game-high 26 points for the Bulldogs.

The Coach Says: "The turnovers killed us in the second half," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We shot well and will take 49 percent shooting every day of the week, but we just can't turn the ball over that much."

On Another Close Game: "We are still learning how to win close games," Vanderhoff said. "We are getting closer, but we have to finish and stay focused for 40 minutes. Give credit to Adrian, they forced us into some tough shots in the second half and we had to hurry up our offensive a bit to beat their press."

On Christmas Break: "It's good to have a break for a little while," Vanderhoff said. "It stinks to end the semester on a loss, but our players play lots of minutes and this is a good time to get some rest, get healthy and refocus for the second semester."

Information Hodge Podge: This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams...Lancaster Bible now has two losses at home this season after having just one the previous two years...The Chargers are 55-7 at Horst Athletic Center since the beginning of the 2012-13 season...While the Chargers are finished for the semester, Adrian still has three games remaining this month...Pennell had 13 assists in a game three times last season...The 14 assists are not only a career-high, but are a program-record as well...Of Lancaster Bible's four losses, three are by eight points or less.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts NAIA-opponent Washington Adventist on Monday, January 2, 2017 at 7 p.m.