Basketball games that begin with one team taking an 18-0 lead don't generally tend to be close games, however Saturday's North Eastern Athletic Conference tilt between Lancaster Bible and Bryn Athyn was anything but normal and thus, became quite interesting after the Chargers jumped out to the aforementioned 18-0 advantage. In the end however, the Chargers were able to stem the tide and defeat the Lions, 74-66 at Horst Athletic Center. With the win, Lancaster Bible improves to 3-1 this season and 2-0 in NEAC play.

How it Happened: Lancaster Bible scored on its first three possessions to take an early 6-0 lead and continued to pour it on early in the first quarter, eventually taking a 14-0 lead at the 6:54 mark thanks to a Katy Stover layup. Bryn Athyn's cold start eventually proved contagious as neither team scored over the next three minutes. Back-to-back free throws from senior Aubrey Folger and a layup from sophomore Alyssa Bowen gave Lancaster Bible an 18-0 lead with 3:33 remaining in the quarter. 

The Lions finally got on the board with two free throws at the 3:11 mark from Kristina Clark and with 1:28 to play in the opening quarter, Bryn Athyn got its first bucket as Je'La Watson cut the Chargers' lead to 20-8. With 24 seconds to play in the first quarter, Mary Finkbeiner took a great pass from Bowen and hit a layup in the paint and was fouled. She completed the three-point play and gave Lancaster Bible a 27-12 lead after one quarter.

The teams reversed roles in the second quarter as Bryn Athyn went on a 16-2 run over the first 4:14 and closed its deficit to one at 29-28. Lancaster Bible maintained its small lead for the rest of the quarter and took a 38-35 advantage into halftime.

In the third quarter, Bryn Athyn took its lone lead of the game at 39-38 on a layup from Watson 1:01 into the quarter. Lancaster Bible quickly regained the lead and with 6:45 to play in the third quarter, Stover hit her lone 3-pointer of the game to give the Chargers a 46-41 lead. The Chargers would score five more points to cap a 12-2 run that ended with Lancaster Bible leading 51-41 with 4:34 left. The Chargers maintained their lead and Stover's layup, off a great pass from Kirsten Webster, with five seconds left gave the home team a 57-45 lead after three quarters.

Lancaster Bible continued to extend its lead in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 16 points with 3:43 remaining. Bryn Athyn fought back and cut its deficit to seven with 23 seconds to play, but would not get closer.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) from the floor and was 21-of-27 from the free throw line...Senior Shanice Smith had 15 points and 20 rebounds for the Chargers, while Folger finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists...Stover added 15 points and five assists, while Webster was the fourth and final member of the Chargers in double figures with 12 points...Lancaster Bible junior Krissy Pennell chipped in with seven points and a game-high seven assists...Bryn Athyn's Kristina Clark led all scorers with 29 points...The Chargers outrebounded the Lions, 37-25. 

The Coach Says: "I thought we started both halves very strong and set the tone for the first and third quarters," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "But we got into foul trouble in the first and second quarters and we had to back off from the way we normally play defense and that let them back into the game."

On the team's 26 turnovers..."Bryn Athyn was aggressive and sucked their defense in when we would drive into the paint," Vanderhoff said. "We tried to pass through people, which doesn't work, and didn't learn from many of our mistakes. But I'm proud of the way we played in the second half and I thought we played our game. We regained control of the game when we needed to and I thought today was a good test of where we are as a team mentally and physically."

On Lancaster Bible's final two games prior to Christmas Break..."I want us to play defense more consistently and really just lock down our play on that end of the floor," Vanderhoff said.

Extra! Extra!: Lancaster Bible is now 3-0 all-time against Bryn Athyn...Saturday was the fifth time in Shanice Smith's career that she pulled down 20 or more rebounds in a single game...Her best single-game performance came on Jan. 24, 2014 when she grabbed 24 rebounds in an 81-23 win over Wilson.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible travels to Collegeville, Pa. next Saturday to take on Ursinus at 1 p.m...It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.