The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team picked up another big victory on Saturday, defeating North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division leader Penn St. Berks, 81-52 in Reading, Pa. The Chargers have now won four straight games, and are 7-11 overall and 5-4 in NEAC play. Penn St. Berks drops to 9-8 overall and 5-4 in conference action.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible blasted out of the gate, as Mikayla Via opened the game with a 3-pointer, while Lizzy Tilton, Alaysha Iwais, and Caitlin Hickey followed with baskets of their own to open an early 9-1 lead. Another jumper from Tilton, and a 3-pointer from Hickey with 3:28 to play gave the Chargers a 16-5 advantage, and Hickey drained two more 3-pointers in the final three minutes, giving Lancaster Bible a 26-17 lead after 10 minutes.
 
Penn St. Berks cut its deficit to five midway through the second quarter, but a 3-pointer from Hope Hodges, and a bucket from Tilton grew the lead back to 10 at 33-23 with 5:06 to play in the half. The Chargers led by as many as 15 late in the second quarter before taking a 42-29 lead into halftime.
 
Iwais scored the first five points of the third quarter for the Chargers and grew the advantage to 17, and after the Nittany Lions made a little run midway through the quarter, Lancaster Bible recovered, and took a 64-45 lead into the final quarter.
 
Lancaster Bible expanded the lead to over 20 after early baskets from Iwais and Jordyn Beers, and Tilton shot the advantage to 27 with a 3-pointer with 4:53 remaining. The Chargers ended the game on an 8-0 run, as Adalyn Steiner scored four the eight points, and Hodges and Hannah Lieb closed the game with baskets of their own.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the floor, including 10-of-24 from 3-point range…The Chargers were also 13-of-15 from the free throw line…Penn St. Berks shot 21.3 percent (13-of-61) from the field, including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc…The Nittany Lions were 24-of-31 from the free throw line…Hickey had a game-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range…Iwais added 18 points and four rebounds, while Tilton was the third player in double figures with 15 points, and also added nine rebounds and eight assists…Steiner had eight points and seven boards, while Hodges added seven points and five rebounds…Katie Armstrong had a team-high 15 points for the Nittany Lions.
 
The Coach Says: "I'm super proud of how we played today," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We came out and executed our game plan perfectly. Today was our best defensive performance of the year, and offensively we moved the ball well and took high percentage shots. This was a big win for us, and we need to keep focusing on the little things and getting better each game."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 16-6 all-time against Penn St. Berks…The Chargers lost to the Nittany Lions, 63-59 on Jan. 15 at Horst Athletic Center…Since beginning the season 0-6, Lancaster Bible is now 7-5…Hickey is averaging 19.8 points per game over her last four games…The 81 points scored are the most for the Chargers this season, and the most since Lancaster Bible scored 85 in a 100-85 loss to Gallaudet on Feb. 13, 2019…This is the second straight Saturday the Chargers have beaten the team that occupied the top spot in the NEAC South Division, as Lancaster Bible defeated then-first place Penn St. Abington on Jan. 25 in Lancaster.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible returns to the floor on Wednesday when the team hosts Penn St. Harrisburg at 7:30 p.m.