The Lancaster Bible College Women's Basketball team played their final regular season game at home on Wednesday night, losing to Penn St. Harrisburg by a score of 73-65. The Chargers enter playoffs at 8-16 overall and 6-6 in the United East, while the Lions finish at 11-1 in conference play and 14-11 overall.
 
Before tonight's game, the team's four seniors were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions for LBC athletics. The four seniors on the team are Alaysha Iwais, Shelby Gard, Faith Hammond, and Jenna Dombach.
 
How it Happened: Harrisburg began the game with a pair of buckets to take a 4-0 lead, then a 3-pointer from senior Shelby Gard brought LBC within one. The Lions responded a minute later, then it was Gard again with a pull-up three, scoring LBC's first seven points and putting the Chargers up 7-6. The teams traded points back and forth before Harrisburg opened a 14-2 scoring run, halted by a Faith Hammond jumper to put LBC down 12 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Rachel Nolt converted a fast-break layup at the start of the second, but the Lions hit a 3-pointer to make it a 34-17 game for their largest lead of the contest. The Chargers had a loud response, closing the first half on a 15-4 run to narrow the gap. Highlighted by eight points from Nolt and senior Jenna Dombach's first 3-pointer of the game, the Chargers entered halftime down four with the score being 38-34 Lions.
 
After two quick scores from the Lions, Gard hit another big three to keep LBC within five, then another three from Dombach on the next possession made it a two-point game. About a minute later, Dombach hit another 3-pointer to help bring the Chargers to just a one-point deficit at 44-43, then the teams traded points with Nolt knocking down a three to enter the fourth quarter down 55-50.
 
The first two minutes of the fourth were scoreless before Natalie Wenger sunk a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three. The Lions broke out on an eight-point run to make it an 11-point game, but a big and-one layup from Alaysha Iwais followed by a steal and score powered the Chargers right back to a 63-61 score with less than four minutes to play. Iwais and Wenger kept the Chargers within three, but some costly mistakes down the stretch helped the Lions take the game by eight points.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers led the game in second-chance points (22-15), while the Lions had more points in the paint (32-22) and points off turnovers (25-19)
- The Chargers shot 23-77 (29.9%) from the field and 7-20 (35%) on 3-pointers, while the Lions shot 28-70 (30.2%) for the game and 11-28 (39.3%) from beyond the arc
- Rachel Nolt led the way for the Chargers, notching a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds
- Alaysha Iwais added 13 points as well with four assists
- Jenna Dombach had 13 points and six rebounds, while Shelby Gard had a season-high 10 points
- The Lions were led by Jayla Galbreath with 16 points on 4-7 from 3-point range
 
Information to Know: The Chargers are now 6-13 all-time versus Harrisburg and lost both games in the series this season. This was the first game this season to feature five Chargers in double-figures (Dombach, Iwais, Nolt, Gard, Wenger). Senior Alaysha Iwais made history as she dished her 359^th career assist, the second-most in program history as she stands at 362 career assists. Iwais also moved into 18^th all-time in scoring with 868 career points. Before exiting the game with an injury, sophomore Raven Hunter blocked two shots to give her 50 blocks on the season, the most in the Volt Division and the fourth-most in program history.
 
Up Next: The Chargers are locked into the five-seed in the upcoming United East Playoffs, and they will travel to St. Mary's (Md.) to take on the fourth-seeded Seahawks on Saturday, February 17 in the United East First Round.