The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team dropped its opening North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division contest of the season on Wednesday, falling to Penn St. Berks, 63-59 at Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers are now 3-10 overall and 1-3 in NEAC play following the loss, while the Nittany Lions improved to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in NEAC action.
 
How it Happened: Penn St. Berks raced out to a 12-5 lead in the opening 5:20 of the contest, but Lancaster Bible erased the early deficit on three straight possessions late in the first quarter, as Caitlin Hickey converted two straight layups, and Lizzy Tilton knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 15-14 with 1:18 left. Penn St. Berks senior Kylie Herman restored the seven-point however for the visitors, as she drained two straight 3-pointers in the final 53 seconds of the quarter, and the Nittany Lions led, 21-14 after 10 minutes.
 
Lancaster Bible wasn't fazed however and opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run, as Tilton again ended the scoring run with a 3-pointer. Mikayla Via and Alaysha Iwais also had baskets during the run that Tilton capped with a triple 4:30 into the quarter. The teams exchanged baskets from there, and Via's 3-pointer with six seconds to play in the first half cut the Chargers' deficit to 32-30 at the break.
 
The third quarter was one to forget for the Chargers who struggled to get anything going consistently on the offensive end, and the struggle was even more real on the defensive end, as Lancaster Bible allowed 24 points in the frame and trailed 56-44 heading to the fourth quarter.
 
Lancaster Bible had another strong opening to a quarter however in the fourth, scoring the first six points of the fourth frame, and the Chargers trailed just 56-50 after a jumper from Iwais with 6:54 to play. The Chargers tried desperately to get back into the game all quarter long, and finally did in the final minute, as Lancaster Bible made it a four-point contest twice before a 3-pointer from Tilton cut the deficit to 61-59 with 12 seconds remaining.
 
Lancaster Bible fouled on an in-bounds play three seconds later, but Julia Bookwalter drained both free throws, and Lancaster Bible couldn't get another shot to fall in the final 10 seconds, and lost by four.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range…The Chargers were also 8-of-10 from the free throw line…Penn St. Berks shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the field, including 8-of-16 from beyond the arc…The Nittany Lions outscored the Chargers, 15-6 in second-chance points, while Lancaster Bible held a 12-0 edge in bench scoring…Tilton tied for a game-high with 17 points, and also added eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks…Iwais added 15 points and three assists, while Hickey was the third and final player in double figures with 11 points…Via chipped in with eight points and five rebounds…Katie Armstrong led four Penn St. Berks players in double figures with 17 points, and also added eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
 
The Coach Says: "We can't dig holes for ourselves like we did tonight," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We had a five-minute stretch in the third quarter wasn't very good, and instead of looking to take the lead in the fourth quarter, we spent a lot of our energy coming back from the big deficit. I'm proud we came back and played hard for 40 minutes, but we have to be more consistent for 40 minutes."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 15-6 all-time against Penn St. Berks, though the Nittany Lions have now won four straight games in the series…The Chargers are now 2-4 at Horst Athletic Center this season…Iwais' 15 points are a career-high and the third time this season she has scored in double figures…Tilton scored in double digits for seventh time this season on Wednesday, and it also marked the third time this year she has had at least 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists together in one game.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible continues NEAC South Division play on Saturday, as the Chargers travel to Middletown, Pa. to face Penn St. Berks at 3 p.m…Due to snow in the forecast for Saturday, there is a chance the game will be played Friday night…Stay tuned to www.lbcchargers.com and our social media feeds for the latest information.