The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak, and won its first road game since mid-December, defeating Gallaudet, 78-72 in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night. The win propels Lancaster Bible to 4-11 overall this season, and 2-4 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Bison dropped to 4-10 overall and 2-4 in conference action.
 
How it Happened: Both teams came out firing in the first quarter, and neither could seemingly miss, as Lancaster Bible's Alaysha Iwais' 3-pointer with 2:20 to play in the opening quarter gave the Chargers a 16-14 lead. Gallaudet tied the contest a moment later, but a bucket from Paige Towne and two late free throws from Adalyn Steiner gave the Chargers a 20-18 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Lancaster Bible scored the first eight points of the second quarter in a 1:16 span, as Hannah Lieb and Iwais connected for back-to-back 3-pointers, and Lizzy Tilton hit two free throws to give the visitors a 28-18 lead. Lancaster Bible's advantage grew to 13 when Tilton knocked down a jumper with 4:58 remaining to give the Chargers a 38-25 edge, and the lead grew to 15 late in the quarter on a basket from Hope Hodges, before Gallaudet's Emelia Beldon connected for a three-point play with two seconds left in the half.
 
The Chargers led by 12 early in the third quarter, but a 7-0 run by the Bison cut Lancaster Bible's lead to 49-44 with 5:44 to play in the third quarter. Lancaster Bible's lead shrunk to three with 1:15 to play in the third quarter, but Mikayla Via and Caitlin Hickey connected on jumpers on the Chargers' final two possessions of the third, and Lancaster Bible led 60-53 after 30 minutes of play.
 
The teams traded buckets early in the fourth quarter, but Iwais took over midway through the frame, and scored eight straight points for the Chargers, and the last two gave Lancaster Bible a 72-64 lead with 3:28 to play. The Bison made one more run and cut their deficit to five, but a jumper from Tilton and free throws from Jordyn Beers put the game way for Lancaster Bible.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the floor, including 8-of-17 from 3-point range…The Chargers were 17-of-25 from the field in the first half, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc…Gallaudet shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field, but just 3-of-12 from 3-point range…Iwais posted her second straight 20-point performance, and third straight game in double figures with 20 points, as she was 9-of-14 from the field, and also added six assists…Tilton added 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Hickey was the third player in double figures with 14 points, and she also had five assists and four boards…Via had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, and also chipped in with six boards…Hodges had five points, while Beers and Steiner had four points each…Beldon had a game-high 21 points for the Bison.
 
The Coach Says: "Tonight was a great team win," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We moved the ball well right from the start, and played team basketball. I thought we handled the last four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter well, and stayed strong and hit big shots when we needed to."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 15-2 all-time against Gallaudet… The Bison defeated the Chargers twice last season, including a 100-85 victory in Washington, D.C. late in the season…Lancaster Bible is 2-6 on the road this season, with the other away victory coming on Dec. 11 at Hood…Wednesday was far and away the team's best shooting performance of the season, as the 59.6 percent from the floor is nearly 17 points higher than the previous best of 42.9 percent the team had against Keuka on Jan. 11…The Chargers had a season-low three offensive rebounds, though most of that can be contributed to all of the shots going through the hoop.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible will play another important NEAC South Division contest on Saturday, as the Chargers host Penn St. Abington at 3 p.m.