The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team closed its regular season with a victory on Saturday and snapped a two-game losing streak in the process as the Chargers defeated SUNY Cobleskill, 63-59 in Cobleskill, N.Y. The victory moves the Chargers to 18-7 overall and 17-3 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play. Coupled with Bryn Athyn's loss at Morrisville State, the Chargers won the NEAC South Division for the fifth consecutive season as the Lions finished 16-4 in NEAC play.
 
Lancaster Bible will be the second seed in next week's NEAC Playoffs and will host XXXX in the NEAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday night at a time to be determined.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible opened the game on an 8-0 run over the first 4:45 of the contest and held SUNY Cobleskill to just five first quarter points. Sophomore Courtney Goyak and junior Kirsten Webster combined to score 15 of the 17 points for the Chargers in the first quarter as Lancaster Bible led by 12 after 10 minutes of play.
 
The Chargers grew their lead to 13 points at 21-8 after two early free throws from freshman Emily Morgan in the second quarter. The Tigers chipped away at the Chargers' lead over the next few minutes and trailed just 23-17 with 5:05 remaining in the half, but Lancaster Bible went on a 9-3 to end the half and led 32-20 at the break.
 
The third quarter played much like the second as SUNY Cobleskill cut its deficit to four, 39-35, but a late run by Lancaster Bible gave the Chargers a 47-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
SUNY Cobleskill finally came the whole way back in the fourth quarter as the Tigers used an 11-2 run over the first 4:28 of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 49-49 on two free throws from Addy Lawson.
 
The Tigers took a 54-53 lead with 3:17 to play on a layup from Shaliyah Graham, but Lancaster Bible came right back and freshman Caitlin Hickey knocked down a 3-pointer on the Chargers' next possession and Goyak followed a possession later with a layup to put Lancaster Bible up, 58-54 with 1:44 to play.
 
The Tigers got to within one, 60-59 with 32 seconds to play, but two free throws from Webster restored the Chargers' three-point lead and SUNY Cobleskill missed two 3-point chances in the final 21 seconds and Lancaster Bible escaped with a four-point win.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 51.2 percent (21-of-41) from the floor, including 18-of-27 from the free throw line, while SUNY Cobleskill shot just 32.8 percent (22-of-67) from the field and 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) from beyond the arc…Goyak led Lancaster Bible with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting, while Webster had 16 points and was 12-of-17 from the free throw line…Hickey added 14 points and six boards, while Morgan finished with 12 points…Lawson had 20 points to pace the Tigers.
 
The Coach Says: "Today was obviously a really big win," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We started off strong and played solid on both ends, but in the third and fourth, we allowed them to come back. During a timeout in the second half, we challenged the team to win 50/50 balls and to rebound. I thought we responded to the challenge, stepped up big and made plays down the stretch. Kirsten did a great job this weekend leading the team and we are really proud of the way this team has responded to adversity all season long. We are looking forward to next week's playoffs."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 6-0 all-time against SUNY Cobleskill…This is the fifth straight season the Chargers have won 18 or more games during the regular season…The Chargers finished 9-4 on the road during the regular season and 9-3 at home…Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Chargers are 86-8 in NEAC play and have won the NEAC South Division every season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will host a NEAC Quarterfinal on Tuesday against an opponent to be determined at a time to be determined…Please check the website for updated information.