The Lancaster Bible women's basketball team ended the first semester on a high note Thursday night as the Chargers defeated Immaculata, 66-43 at Horst Athletic Center. The victory improves the Chargers to 4-2 this season, while the Mighty Macs dropped to 2-7. Thursday's contest was a make-up from the game's original date of November 17 when an accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike stopped traffic for over three hours and Immaculata's bus couldn't reach Lancaster.

How it Happened: Thursday's game began slow as the teams found their footing after having most of the week off (both teams played last Saturday). With 4:57 to play in the first quarter, Theresa Walsh converted a layup to cut Immaculata's deficit to two at 8-6, but it would be the last bucket the Chargers allowed in the opening quarter as Lancaster Bible rattled off the final 13 points of the quarter to take a 21-6 lead after 10 minutes. Junior Kirsten Webster started the scoring run for the Chargers as she converted a layup and hit a jumper to give Lancaster Bible a 12-6 advantage with 2:47 left in the first. The Aubrey Folger and Krissy Pennell show began shortly after as Pennell found Folger time-and-time again in the lane and Folger scored easy buckets to increase the Chargers' lead. Two Shanice Smith layups in the final 38 seconds capped the scoring run as the Chargers took a 15-point lead into the second quarter.

Folger and Pennell took center stage early in the second quarter as well, as Pennell found Folger on three of Lancaster Bible's first four possessions of the second half. Folger's final layup gave Lancaster Bible a 29-6 lead and ended a 21-0 run for the Chargers. Immaculata's scoring drought of 8:18 finally came to an end with 6:39 left in the second quarter as Reilly Larkin hit a jumper from the top of the key. 

The Chargers continued to build their advantage and eventually took a 30-point lead at 45-15 on a layup from Smith with 1:02 left in the half. The Mighty Macs got one more bucket before halftime as the Chargers led 45-17 at the break. The 45 points in the first half are the second-most the Chargers have scored in a half this season, trailing only the 47 points Lancaster Bible posted in the opening half of an 84-41 win over Penn St. Berks on December 2.

The teams traded buckets for much of the third quarter as Lancaster Bible maintained its lead. The Chargers opened up another 30-point lead on Webster's layup with 51 seconds to play in the third quarter, but Larkin hit a running 3-pointer as time expired to cut Immaculata's deficit to 59-32 after three quarters.

Scoring was not at a premium in the fourth quarter as the teams combined for just 18 points, but Lancaster Bible once again maintained much of its lead, despite playing different lineups than it has for much of the season.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 28-of-67 (41.8 percent) for the game, but was 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) in the first half...Immaculata finished the game 16-of-55 from the field...Folger led all scorers with 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting and also added eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks...Pennell finished with six points, 10 assists, eight steals and five boards...Her 10 assists are the third-most in program history in a single game and are the most since Jan. 30, 2013 when Sarah Heilenman had 10 assists in a win over Penn St. Harrisburg...Smith had 11 points and 18 rebounds in just 22 minutes, while Webster also had 11 points for the Chargers...Katy Stover chipped in with nine points and five assists and Marisa Jo Abtsadded four points and four rebounds...Freshman Mary Finkbeiner had a point, rebound and assist, whileMolly Arnold added two boards and an assist...Larkin paced the Mighty Macs with 19 points.

The Coach Says: "I really liked the way we came out defensively," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Katelyn Vanderhoff said. "We denied passes and were very active. It led to easy baskets on the offensive end of the floor and I was happy we could dictate play from the start. We have talked all season about playing that way defensively and we really stressed it this week and I was pleased the team responded."

On Folger and Pennell's play..."The two of them played really well together tonight," Vanderhoff said. "The way Krissy found Aubrey in the lane all of those times was fun to watch."

On Christmas Break and the team's first semester..."I'm happy with the start of our season. I think we would like a few plays back here and there in a few games, but we battled through injuries and illness a lot and for the team to be 4-2 at this point is a good start to the year," Vanderhoff said. "I think it is important for the team to rest over break and get healthy, but they also have to stay in shape. We have some big conference games right when we return from break, so it is important everyone feels good and is in shape when the team gets back together early in January."

Extra! Extra!: Lancaster Bible improves to 1-1 all-time against Immaculata...After outscoring the Mighty Macs, 21-6 in the first quarter, Lancaster Bible has now outscored its opponents, 134-68 this season in the first quarter of games...The Chargers are 40-4 at Horst Athletic Center since the beginning of the 2012-13 season...Lancaster Bible was 4-2 at the end of the first semester last season as well...Folger's 22.8 points per game lead the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible returns to action in 2016 with a NEAC South Division matchup against Penn College on Thursday, Jan. 7 in Williamsport, Pa. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.