The Lancaster Bible College Women's Basketball team began their 2026-27 season Friday night as they traveled to face Eastern on the road, losing by a score of 68-54. The Chargers open the year at 0-1 overall while the Eagles begin their season at 1-0 overall.
How it Happened:
The Chargers started the scoring as
Aniyah Johnson (Fr.) drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key for LBC's first basket of the year, then a jumper off a steal by
Emily Wilson (So.) got the Chargers a 5-0 lead to start. After Eastern tied the game at 5-5,
Madison Smith (Fr.) hit a three off the bench for her first career score, then added another on a layup to put LBC up 10-7.
Patricia Monroe (Jr.) then scored her first LBC points on a layup to keep the lead at three, then with under two minutes left in the quarter, Wilson knocked down a three for an 18-12 lead. The Chargers were able to take a four-point lead out of the first period as they led 20-16 after ten.
Wilson had a three-point play out of the break on a layup to extend the lead to seven, then after an Eastern layup,
Noah Vrbicek (So.) scored her first career bucket on a driving layup. The Eagles then scored six straight points to pull within one point to force a timeout, but Johnson made a driving layup in response to halt the run. Eastern swung ahead by one point before a layup by
Keziah George (Fr.) put LBC back on top for her first career points, then after an Eastern score the game got tied up at 30-30 on a Monroe free throw. A step-back jumper by Wilson tied the game again at 32-32 to send the game into halftime.
Eastern jumped to a four-point lead out of the half before a steal and a score by Johnson cut it to two. Smith then cut the lead to one on a 3-pointer off a pass from Wilson, but the Eagles went on a 9-0 run in response to take their largest lead of the game at 53-41. Wilson hit a three in the final ten seconds of the quarter to send the game into the fourth at a nine-point game.
The Eagles took control of the game in the fourth quarter as they held Lancaster Bible scoreless over the first five minutes, building their lead to 17 at 61-44 before
Shania Stoltzfus (Jr.) hit a pair of free throws. Smith added points down the stretch, but Eastern remained in control as they rolled to a 14-point win at home to open the season.
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- FG %: Lancaster Bible 32.2% (19-59),
Eastern 40.9% (27-66)
- 3PT %: Lancaster Bible 27.8% (5-18),
Eastern 44.4% (4-9)
- FT %: Lancaster Bible 73.3% (11-15),
Eastern 83.3% (10-12)
- Points in Paint: Lancaster Bible 24,
Eastern 42
- Points off TOs:
Lancaster Bible 18, Eastern 16
- Bench Points:
Lancaster Bible 25, Eastern 7
Key Performances
-
Madison Smith: 18 Points (game-high), 4-4 FTs, 2 3PTs
-
Emily Wilson: 13 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 2-3 3PT
-
Aniyah Johnson: 10 Points, 5 Steals (game-high), 3 Assists
- Madeline Wylie (EAS): 18 Points, 16 Rebounds, 3 Blocks (all game-highs)
-
Double-Double (1)
- Sophia Vera (EAS): 16 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Steals
Information to Know:
The Chargers are now 1-6 all-time against Eastern and have lost their last three against the Eagles including the last two opening games of the season. This was the third consecutive opening-game loss for the Chargers and their third straight road opener as well.
Madison Smith had the most points for a Charger in an opening game (18) since Jenna Dombach had 24 in 2025, debuting for Lancaster Bible as their leading scorer off the bench.
Aniyah Johnson also reached double-figures in her LBC debut with 10, adding a game-high five steals as well.
Up Next:
The Chargers have their first home game of the season up next as they take on Bloomfield College in the Horst Athletic Center on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.
