The Lancaster Bible College women's basketball team found itself in a strange place Wednesday night. They were taking on a Valley Forge Christian team that beat them by 19 points three weeks ago, so surely LBC wanted to try and avenge that loss. However, the Chargers already knew prior to the game that they were going to be playing the Patriots next Thursday in the NCCAA East Region Semi-final.
So the question was, do they go all out for the win or save some tricks for next week's game which is more important.
Leaving no doubt, the Chargers went all out.
The Patriots were up to the challenge though and beat the Chargers 69-67 in double overtime.
Christine Maher led the Chargers with 12 points, while
Emily Lloyd and
Vanessa Clemenson each had 10 points.
Earlier in the day, the LBC players learned Head Coach Bob Shannon would not be making the trip due to some health concerns.
"There was much more behind our play tonight then just winning one game," Assistant Coach Adam Surguine said. "Not only were we playing for Coach Shannon, but to show them that we are serious about winning next week's game as well."
Down by 13 with ten minutes to go in the second half, LBC (4-18) roared back to tie the score at 54-54 at the end of regulation.
"We created turnovers and got to loose balls," Surguine said. "The ladies believed in each other and what we were trying to do as a team."
Unfortunately,
Lauren Heliger and Clemenson, fouled out during the second overtime, which enabled the Patriots to take control of play.
One of the keys to the Chargers comeback, both in regulation and in the first overtime, was their clutch foul shooting.
Brittney Becker was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
LBC is back in action on Friday when they take on Valley Forge Military College at 7:00 p.m. The game, to be held at Horst Athletic Center, is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.