The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team opened North Eastern Athletic Conference play with a 76-68 loss to Penn St. Berks on Wednesday night in Reading, Pa., as the Chargers lost their third straight contest, and fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Nittany Lions, who led by one at halftime, improved to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in NEAC play, and defeated the Chargers in Reading for the second straight season.
 
Game Recap:  Lancaster Bible jumped out to a 7-2 lead, as three different players recorded baskets, including a 3-pointer to lead things off from freshman Hope Hodges. The Chargers led for much of the first quarter, and increased their lead to five, 19-14 on a layup from junior Caitlin Hickey with 1:25 to play, but the Nittany Lions rattled off five straight points to tie the game at 19-19, before a late layup from freshman Christine Graves gave Lancaster Bible a two-point edge after 10 minutes of play.
 
Lancaster Bible took its largest lead with 7:31 to play in the first half, as sophomore Lizzy Tilton drained a 3-pointer to give the Chargers a 29-21 advantage. Penn St. Berks began to chip away at its deficit, and finally tied the game at 33-33 with 1:36 to play, and then took a 36-35 lead into halftime.
 
The Chargers regained the lead midway through the third quarter, as Tilton hit back-to-back jumpers, and extended Lancaster Bible's lead to six at 49-43 with 4:19 remaining in the third frame. Again though, the Nittany Lions wouldn't go away, and Abbie Carr's layup with 45 seconds to play in the quarter gave the home team a 55-54 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Penn St. Berks wouldn't give up the lead in the fourth quarter as it had in the previous two quarters, though the Chargers tried time-and-time again to tie the game. Hickey's 3-pointer with 4:08 to play brought Lancaster Bible to within three, 65-62, and another 3-pointer from Hodges with 2:06 remaining again cut the deficit to three, but the Chargers couldn't get over the hump, and the Nittany Lions converted two layups and two free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field, and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from beyond the arc...The Chargers attempted just seven free throws…Penn St. Berks shot 33.8 percent (27-of-80) from the field, and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range…The Nittany Lions were 17-of-25 from the free throw line…Tilton finished with a team-high and career-high 19 points, while adding five assists, four rebounds and three blocks…Hodges had 17 points and eight boards, while Hickey added 12 points…Courtney Goyak had five points and a game-high 19 rebounds, while Graves and Mekenzie Smith each had five points as well…Kaitlyn Armstrong had a game-high 22 points to lead Penn St. Berks.
 
The Coach Says: "We played very well for parts of the game, but weren't consistent enough to win," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We have to give credit to Penn St. Berks who played very hard, and crashed the boards well."
 
On the Play of Tilton: "Lizzy had the best game of her career, attacking the basket, and finishing on balance, which is something big for her," Vanderhoff said.
 
Overall on the Team's Play: "We are young, so we just have to keep improving and working on being consistent as we go forward this season."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 15-4 all-time against Penn St. Berks…The teams split last season's series, with each team winning on its home floor…The Chargers are now 0-4 away from home this season…This is the first time since Lancaster Bible's first season in the NEAC (2011-12) that the Chargers have dropped their opening NEAC game of the season…Lancaster Bible is outscoring its opponents 101-74 in the first quarter of games this season, but is being outscored, 277-244 in the other three quarters.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible returns home this Saturday, and will host St. Elizabeth at 12 p.m.