The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team opened the 2017-18 season on Wednesday night in Harrisonburg, Va. with a 72-55 loss to Eastern Mennonite. The Royals, picked first in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason poll, led 43-25 at halftime and never looked back.

1st Half Highlights:
-The Chargers came out strong and took a 7-4 lead on a 3-pointer from sophomore Caitlin Hickey with 7:01 remaining in the first quarter
-Eastern Mennonite responded with a 10-0 run following the 3-pointer from Hickey and eventually took a 21-11 lead after 10 minutes of play
-Leading 26-15 early in the second quarter, the Royals used a 9-0 run to build their lead to 20 at 35-15
-A late layup from senior Kirsten Webster cut the Chargers' deficit to 18 just prior to halftime, 43-25

2nd Half Highlights:
-Lancaster Bible had a strong third quarter, holding Eastern Mennonite to just 10 points, including just five in the final 7:48 of the quarter
-The Chargers closed the third quarter on a 6-2 run and trailed just, 53-41 heading into the final frame
-A 7-0 scoring run from Eastern Mennonite over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter put to rest any comeback chances for the Chargers and the Royals finished off the Chargers, 72-55

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) from the floor, while the Royals shot 29-of-63 (46 percent)...The Chargers were just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, but were 14-of-21 from the free throw line...Webster led all scorers with 19 points and added six assists, while Hickey had 15 points and two steals...Junior Courtney Goyak had 11 points and a game-high 19 rebounds...Freshman Leah Steiner had four points and two boards in her first collegiate game.

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 0-3 all-time against Eastern Mennonite...Wednesday marks the third straight season the Chargers have lost their season opener...Lancaster Bible was picked second in the North Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll which was released on Wednesday morning...The Chargers and two-time defending champion SUNY Poly each had 160 total points, but the Wildcats had more first place votes and were named the number one team in the poll.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible will take part in the Morgan Stanley (Easton Office) Tip-Off Tournament at DeSales this weekend...The Chargers will face Centenary on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Saturday's results will determine who and when the Chargers play on Sunday.