The Lancaster Bible women's basketball team squared off against United East Conference foe Penn St. Berks in just their second game since the holiday break, earning themselves a convincing 75-46 win. The Chargers now move to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in conference action while the Lions are 1-7 and 1-1 in conference play.
 
How It Happened: The Chargers began the first quarter on an 8-0 run behind two layups from sophomore Jade Eshelman, a bucket from Alaysha Iwais, and two free-throws from Adalyn Steiner. The Chargers grew the lead to as much as 18 points off two free throws from Irene Were with just 10:01 left to play in the first quarter. The Chargers ended their monster first quarter scoring 27 points and limiting the Lions to 9 points.
 
The second quarter was much of the same for the Chargers' offensive show, jumping out to a 28-point lead just under four minutes in off back-to-back buckets from Steiner and help from Iwais, Were, and Sydney Heller. Even more impressive than the offensive prowess was the Chargers defensive pressure, allowing only nine second quarter points and 18 first half points.
 
The second half wasn't much different for the Chargers as several players were able to find the board and contribute in a variety of ways on the floor. The Lions made a few runs only to meet a tighter Charger defense that allowed 46 total points.
 
From the Coach: "This was a great team win today and it felt good to be back in front of our home crowd. I loved our defensive effectiveness, especially in the first half, and our strong performance on the boards against a very good rebounding team in Berks. We will need to be excellent in both our defense and rebounding as we look forward to the next three games." – Head Coach Joy Tharrington
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 45 percent from the field (28-62) and 33 percent from beyond the arc (6-18)… the Lions shot 30 percent from the floor (18-59) and 25 percent from three-point land (4-16)… the Chargers dominated the rebound battle 44-27 including 16 offensive rebounds… the Chargers had 34 points in the paint and 17 points off turnovers… Eshelman led all scorers with 18 points on 8-8 shooting… Steiner and Were added 14 points… Lyla Spencer had 13 points for the Lions.
 
Information to Know: Saturday marks the second time this season the Chargers have scored 75 points or more (November 12, 2022 at Cairn, 97-42)… the Chargers' 47 points in the first half ties for the second most this season as the Chargers scored 50 in the second half at Cairn.
 
Up Next: The Chargers continue conference play on Wednesday, January 11^th at Penn St. Abington; the tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m.