The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team opened the 47^th season in program history on Thursday night with a 57-45 loss at Penn St. Harrisburg in Middletown, Pa. After a slow start, the Chargers battled in the second half, but couldn't complete the comeback, and lost their season opener for the fourth straight season.
 
How it Happened: The Nittany Lions jumped out to an 8-2 lead just 2:56 into the game, and led 11-4 after a 3-pointer from Rachel Miller at the 6:21 mark. Lancaster Bible hung tough though, and cut the deficit to four, 12-8, on a layup from sophomore Leah Steiner with 2:46 to play in the opening quarter. A layup by junior Caitlin Hickey gave the Chargers double digits, but they trailed, 16-10 after 10 minutes.
 
The scoring woes continued for Lancaster Bible in the second quarter, as the visitors scored just two points in the opening 5:45, and after a 13-2 run, trailed 29-12, before a jumper from sophomore Lizzy Tilton went through the hoop with 4:14 to play in the first half. Things didn't improve much for the Chargers prior to halftime, and they trailed, 38-20 at the break.
 
Penn St. Harrisburg took its biggest lead of the game, 42-23 with seven minutes to play in the third quarter, but Kendis Butler's layup would be the second-to-last bucket of the quarter for the Nittany Lions, as the Chargers defense turned up the pressure, and limited the home team to just six third-quarter points.
 
Trailing, 44-29 entering the fourth quarter, Lancaster Bible used an 11-1 run over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to cut its deficit to just five, 45-40, thanks to a free throw from senior Courtney Goyak. Less than a minute later, freshman Christine Graves completed a three-point play, and brought the Chargers to within three, 46-43. Lancaster Bible would get no closer however, as the scoring woes returned, and the Nittany Lions made their free throws at the end to seal the game.
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor, but 0-of-12 from 3-point range, and just 5-of-12 from the free throw line…Penn St. Harrisburg was just 16-of-53 (30.2 percent) from the floor, but made up for it by going 19-of-26 from the free throw line…Hickey finished with a team-best 17 points to go with three assists and three blocks, while Goyak had eight points and a game-high 19 rebounds…Tilton added eight points and seven rebounds, while Graves had five points and six boards, five of which were on the offensive glass…Steiner had four points and four rebounds for the Chargers…Rachel Miller had a game-high 23 points for the Nittany Lions.
 
The Coach Says: "We didn't start the game well, and that clearly hurt us," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We allowed them to dictate what we did on offense, and we turned the ball over too much."
 
On the team's second half: "We did respond well in the second half, and were able to get back into the game, and trail by just three," Vanderhoff said. "I was proud of how we fought and willed our way back into the game. We have to learn from our mistakes, and get ourselves prepared for Saturday."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 7-8 all-time against Penn St. Harrisburg…The Chargers lost to the Nittany Lions, 64-58 in Lancaster last season…Hickey's 17 points give her 983 for her career, and she will look to become the 12^th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark on Saturday…Four players, Graves, Mekenzie Smith, Hope Hodges, and Sonja Nelson, each played in their first collegiate basketball games.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will host Penn St. Schuylkill on Saturday at 1 p.m.