The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team opened its 2019-20 season with a 53-39 loss at Centenary (N.J.) on Saturday afternoon in Hackettstown, N.J. The Chargers stand at 0-1 this season, while the Cyclones are 1-0.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible owned the opening minutes of the first quarter, jumping out to a 17-1 lead after 6:41 of play. Five different players had buckets during the run, as Caitlin Hickey had six of the points, and Lizzy Tilton added five. Centenary scored the final eight points of the quarter however, and Lancaster Bible led just 17-9 after 10 minutes of play.
 
The Chargers extended their lead to 10 on two different occasions in the second quarter, the second time coming at 5:58 when Alaysah Iwais knocked down a jumper. The Cyclones were tough at the end of the quarter again, and the Chargers led by just four, 26-22 at halftime.
 
It was the Cyclones who played well early in the quarter in the third, as the home team took its first lead of the game, and led for much of the third frame. Lancaster Bible put together a strong run at the end of the quarter this time, and three late points from Paige Towne gave the Chargers a 37-34 lead after 30 minutes of play.
 
The fourth quarter was one to forget in the young season, as Centenary opened the quarter on an 11-0 run, and scored 17 of the quarter's 19 points. Hickey had the lone Lancaster Bible bucket in the fourth quarter, and it cut the deficit to six, 45-39 with 3:15 to play, but the Chargers wouldn't score again, and opened the season with a loss.
 
Statistically Speaking: Lancaster Bible shot 14-of-52 (26.9 percent) from the floor, but just 3-of-25 in the second half…The Chargers were also just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc…Centenary was 19-of-53 (35.8 percent) from the field, but just 1-of-8 from 3-point range…Each team had 24 points in the paint…Hickey had a game-high 19 points, while Tilton had six points, six rebounds and three blocks…Iwais had four points, four rebounds and two assists in her first collegiate game, while Adalyn Steiner also had four points…Towne finished with five points and three boards…Jessica McKenzie led the Cyclones with 17 points and 13 boards.
 
The Coach Says: "We started off the game really well, pushed the ball in transition and we were flowing offensively," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We got into foul trouble which disrupted our flow in both halves of play. We didn't execute as well as they did in the fourth quarter, and it cost us. We did see some good things from our team and had some good minutes out of our young players. We are looking forward to a good week of practice, and the Kean Tournament next weekend."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 1-1 all-time against Centenary…The only other time these teams have played was Nov. 18, 2017 when the Chargers defeated the Cyclones, 72-60 at the Morgan Stanley Tip-Off Tournament at DeSales…Lancaster Bible has lost five straight season openers, and has not won since defeating then-Baptist Bible, 91-23 to open the 2014-15 season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will take part in the Kean Tournament next weekend, and will face host Kean on Friday night at 7 p.m.