The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team opened their United East Conference play for the 2022-23 season with a win against the Penn College Wildcats on Saturday afternoon, 51-41. Following the win, the Chargers improve to an impressive 4-1 overall record and 1-0 in the United East while Penn College moves to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the United East.
 
How It Happened: It would be all defense to start the game. The Wildcats went up 3-0 early before the Chargers responded with seven unanswered points to end the first quarter behind Jade Eshelman's back-to-back layups and a three-point field goal from Shelby Gard.
 
Opening the second quarter, back-to-back three-pointers from senior Adalyn Steiner grew the Charger lead to double digits (13-3) with seven minutes to go until halftime. The Wildcats put together a run of their own in the middle of the second quarter, bringing the deficit within four points, but the Chargers continued to keep their distance on a jumper from Gard and layup from Jenna Dombach. The Chargers headed to halftime with a 17-11 lead.
 
The Wildcats came out of halftime looking to close the deficit, getting within two points early in the second half, but the Chargers went on a 12-3 run capped off by a Dombach three-pointer and the third period would close with the Chargers leading 32-23.
 
Much like the third period, the Wildcats gave the Chargers a run for their money, getting within three points at the five minute mark, but the Charger offense led by Eshelman and Sydney Heller would respond, increasing the lead to as much as 13 points at one time. The Chargers would seal the game defensively and finish their first United East contest with a 51-41 victory.
 
From the Coach: "This was a great home conference win for us as we are trying to solidify our identity as a team. I thought we did a good job weathering the highs and lows of the game, including shooting very poorly in the first quarter, to beat a tough Penn College team. We are learning how to win when it's not pretty and I know that will serve us well as we continue in non-conference play." – Head Coach Joy Tharrington
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 33.9% (20-59) from the field and 30.4% (7-24) from three-point land… the Chargers also registered 14 assists and five steals for the afternoon's contest… sophomore Jade Eshelman led the way for the Chargers with 12 points and nine rebounds… senior Adalyn Steiner also had 12 points and added four rebounds, two assists, and two steals… the Wildcats were led by Rachel Teats with 11 points and Emily Pardee with 10 points.
 
Information to Know: This was the Chargers' first United East Conference game of the 2022-23 season and their first United East Conference win… the win streak for the Chargers against Penn College has now been extended to 14 wins dating back to 2015.
 
Up Next: The Chargers return to the road next Tuesday, December 6^th against Centenary (N.J.) in Hackettstown, N.J. at 7:00 p.m.