The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team clinched the North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division on Tuesday night, defeating Penn St. Abington, 53-51 in Abington, Pa. The Chargers are now 12-11 overall, and 10-4 in conference play, and cap division play with an 8-2 record. Penn St. Abington falls to 8-14 overall and 6-8 in NEAC play.
 
The Chargers 8-2 record in NEAC South Division play tops both Penn St. Harrisburg and Penn St. Berks who will now play one another in the NEAC Quarterfinals next week. The Chargers will have a bye to the NEAC Semifinals which will take place at SUNY Poly on Feb. 29-Mar. 1.
 
How it Happened: The teams traded baskets in the first quarter, though neither team could do much offensively, as Mikayla Via's layup for the Chargers with 3:47 to play in the opening quarter tied the game at 6-6. Hope Hodges knocked down a 3-pointer later in the quarter, and Caitlin Hickey and Via converted a basket each, as the Chargers closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run for a 14-8 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Lancaster Bible eventually led, 17-12 early in the second quarter, but Penn St. Abington closed the gap to 19-17 before Adalyn Steiner scored her fifth consecutive point to give the Chargers a 21-17 lead with 6:01 remaining in the half. The teams traded 3-pointers late in the quarter, and after the Nittany Lions tied the game at 26-26, Lizzy Tilton hit a jumper with 38 seconds to play to give the Chargers a two-point halftime lead.
 
Lancaster Bible took a 35-28 lead midway through the third quarter on a jumper from Tilton, but Penn St. Abington closed the quarter on an 8-0 run from that point, and led by one after 30 minutes of play. The Chargers scored just seven points in the quarter, and did not score in the final 4:22 of the frame.
 
The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 41-36 early in the final quarter, but a quick 7-0 run from the Chargers restored their lead at 43-41 after a 3-pointer from Mikayla Via. The teams battled back-and-forth from there, as Penn St. Abington took a 51-48 lead with 1:54 to play after  layup from Dakiya Daniels.
 
Adalyn Steiner brought the Chargers to within one, 51-50, with a layup, and after Penn St. Abington came up empty on their end of the floor, Caitlin Hickey was fouled with 21 seconds to play and knocked down two clutch free throws to give the Chargers a 52-51 advantage. The Nittany Lions missed a shot with under 10 seconds to play, and then missed two free throws with six seconds remaining to keep the Chargers in front by one. Steiner converted one-of-two free throws with five seconds to play, and Penn St. Abington called timeout to advance the ball to half-court. Hickey clinched the win for the Chargers with a huge steal with three seconds to play, as the Chargers returned to the top of the NEAC South Division.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor, but just 4-of-16 from 3-point range…The Nittany Lions shot 30.3 percent (20-of-66) from the field, but just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-18 from the free throw line…Each team had 26 points in the paint…Via led all scorers with 17 points, and also pulled down seven rebounds…Hickey added 10 points, seven assists, and two boards, while Steiner was the third player in double figures with 10 points, and also added eight rebounds…Tilton had six points, 11 rebounds, and three assists…Christine Graves chipped in with five points and four boards, while Hodges added three points and four boards…Jordyn Beers had two points, four boards, and two assists.
 
The Coach Says: "I'm super proud of our team," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "Tonight's game was ugly and we definitely didn't play our best, but we found a way. Mikayla and Adalyn stepped up huge for us."
 
On the team's season: "This season has been one special journey so far," Vanderhoff said. "To have the start we had, and to have the perseverance to just keep getting better and to stay focused in middle of a hard and frustrating season is special. It is a great accomplishment to win the NEAC South Division, but we are still hungry for more."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 18-7 all-time against Penn St. Abington…The Chargers defeated the Nittany Lions, 60-56 on Jan. 18 at Horst Athletic Center…Lancaster Bible is now 5-6 on the road this season…Lancaster Bible's nine straight wins are the most since the team won 16 games in a row during the 2015-16 season…The Chargers won the NEAC South Division six straight seasons from 2012-2018, and after failing to make the NEAC playoffs last season, Lancaster Bible is back on top…After 23 regular season games, the Chargers have scored 1,392 points, and allowed 1,392 points…During Lancaster Bible's nine-game win streak, the team has kept opponents under 60 points five times.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will wrap-up the regular season this weekend in upstate New York, as the Chargers face SUNY Poly on Friday night at 7 p.m., and SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday at 3 p.m.