2017-18 Women's Basketball Preview
The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team will kick off its 46th season on Wednesday night at Eastern Mennonite in Harrisonburg, Va., as the Chargers look to start the year off on a positive note, en route to defending their North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division title for the sixth straight season.

Lancaster Bible has won 20 or more games in five straight seasons and with a solid core returning from last season's 20-9 team, the Chargers feel they have the type of team that can be in the hunt for 20 or more wins again.

The Returners: Five players from last season's team are back for Lancaster Bible, as Courtney Goyak, Caitlin Hickey, Kirsten Webster, Kaylee Boger and Sara Bell are all back in black and red. Goyak led NCAA Division III in rebounds and rebounds per game last season, pulling down the second-most rebounds in women's basketball history with 617. She added 18.1 points per game and was a NEAC All-Conference First Team selection, as well as a D3hoops.com 2016-17 All-East Region Team selection.

Hickey was the NEAC Rookie of the Year in 2016-17, and had 17.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. She led the team with 68 3-pointers and 11 games with 20 or more points.

Webster, the lone senior on this year's team, averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per game last season. Webster appeared in 24 games and came on late, as she scored in double figures in nine of Lancaster Bible's last 10 games.

Boger collected 5.6 points per game last season and finished with 43 3-pointers, while scoring in double digits six times. Bell provided solid minutes off the bench for the Chargers last season and was a force on the glass.

Welcome to Lancaster: The Chargers have seven new players this season, including freshmen Morgan Daniels, Leah Steiner, Lizzy Tilton, Maggie Nargi and Kendra Brown. Sophomore RuthAnn Hostetler also joins the Chargers this season.

So Long, Farewell: Four players are not back from last season's 20-win team, including seniors Krissy Pennell and Naomi Otis. Emily Morgan and Stephanie Ehko are also gone from last year's squad.

Pennell finished with the most assists in program history in just two seasons (421) with the Chargers and was the leader on the floor for the past two years. Otis appeared in all 29 of Lancaster Bible's games last season and provided solid leadership on and off the floor. Morgan and Ehko both came off the bench, with Morgan providing over eight points a game.

Core Four: Lancaster Bible will at least begin the season relying heavily on the core of Goyak, Hickey, Webster and Boger. All four can score, while also bringing another compliment to their game. Goyak will once again be called upon to dominate the glass, while Hickey and Boger will need to shoot the ball well on most nights for the Chargers. Webster knows the ins and outs of all spots on the floor and will looked upon to provide leadership as well as strong play from the point guard position.

Leader of the Pack: Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff begins her third season with the Chargers after guiding Lancaster Bible to back-to-back 20-win seasons. Though the Chargers have fallen short of winning the NEAC title, Lancaster Bible has won the NEAC South Division in each of Vanderhoff's first two seasons and the Chargers have also won the last five NEAC South Division titles.

Vanderhoff and the coaching staff are excited about the team's chances this season and though there is work to be done, the Chargers figure to be right in the mix once again at the end of the season.

1. The returners are all proven commodities, how will you put them in good spots to succeed again this season, as teams will be gearing up for Goyak and Hickey specifically?

Vanderhoff: It's nice to have a solid group returning. Both Hickey and Goyak have worked hard in the offseason to improve their games and we will look to set them up in our offense and put them in places of their strength.

2. Injuries have plagued the team during the preseason, how will that possibly affect the team's performance early in the year?

Vanderhoff: It's been a rough start to the year, but thankfully we are getting healthier. Our focus has been to get better each day we step on the court. We have had to adjust and backtrack to re-teach some concepts, but we expect to be ready to go on Wednesday evening at Eastern Mennonite.

3. What do you hope to learn from the first few games of the season?

Vanderhoff: We have some tough games to start the season. I am looking for how our team will respond as we face some adversity. I think these first few games will reveal our team identity and will give us solid competition as we begin conference play.

4. What are your expectations for the 2017-18 Chargers?

Vanderhoff: It's been tough to get an overall feel for our team this preseason as we have dealt with a lot of injuries. We have solid players returning and with the addition of some newcomers, we are looking forward to the season. We have a hard-working, resilient group, so I think if we put the work in throughout the year, we can have a successful season.

2017-18 Links:
Team Roster
Team Schedule
Program History
Women picked second in NEAC Preseason Poll