The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team's season-opening losing streak stretched to five games on Wednesday night, as the Chargers lost to York (Pa.), 77-52 at The Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center in York, Pa. The Spartans are now 4-4 overall this season, while the Chargers dropped to 0-5.
 
How it Happened: York jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but Lancaster Bible scored on its next three possessions, as Jordyn Beers, Christine Graves, and Alaysha Iwais converted baskets, and gave the Chargers a 6-4 lead with 5:53 to play in the opening quarter. Buckets by Lizzy Tilton and Caitlin Hickey gave the Chargers two separate one-point leads later in the quarter, but the Spartans led, 17-14 after 10 minutes of action.
 
A jumper from Beers 1:19 into the second quarter knotted the score at 18-18, but that would be the last time the Chargers could pull even with the Spartans, as York went on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes, and opened a 31-18 advantage with 3:07 to play in the half. The gap eventually reached 18 for the Chargers in the second quarter, but a late 3-pointer from Becca Lucente cut Lancaster Bible's deficit to 40-25 at halftime.
 
Lancaster Bible trailed by 25 late in the third quarter, though back-to-back buckets from Paige Towne, followed by a free throw from Tenia Brown cut the deficit to 20, before a late basket by York gave the home team a 57-35 edge after 30 minutes.
 
Another layup from Beers midway through the fourth quarter brought the Chargers to within 18, but York quickly scored, and the Spartans' lead stayed in the 20's the rest of the way.
 
Statistically Speaking: Lancaster Bible shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the field, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from 3-point range…The Chargers shot just 52.9 percent from the free throw line…York shot 40.6 percent (28-of-69) from the floor, but was just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from beyond the arc…The Spartans held a 29-11 advantage in points off of turnovers, as the  Chargers turned the ball over 25 times…Caitlin Hickey led the Chargers with 11 points, while Tilton had eight points, nine rebounds, and six assists…Beers finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Towne had six points and four boards…York's Molly Day led all scorers with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
 
The Coach Says: "I thought we started the game well and were competing, then foul trouble and a lack of consistent hustle really hurt us in the second quarter," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We will have to play better defensively on Saturday as we head into conference play."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 0-8 all-time against York (Pa.)…These two teams met last season in Lancaster, with the Spartans earning a 76-45 victory at Horst Athletic Center…Lancaster Bible is 0-3 in true road games this season, and 0-4 in all contests away from Horst Athletic Center…Wednesday's 25 turnovers are a season-high for the Chargers…Lancaster Bible's nine steals on Wednesday tied for a season-high…Hickey is the only Lancaster Bible player to score in double figures in each of the team's five games so far this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible opens North Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon, as the Chargers battle Morrisville State in upstate New York at 3 p.m.