ANKENY, Iowa --- In the opening round of the 2017 NCCAA DII Women's Basketball National Tournament, the Sabercats held on to win 63-59 over the Bob Jones University Bruins in a tight clash. With the win, MBU advances to the semifinal of the tournament against the #1-seeded Arlington Baptist Patriots, which will be played tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. central time.

Alexis Johnson was credited with 22 points while Katie Bender logged her first career double-double in Blue and Gold.

In the first half, the two teams stayed close throughout. Hanna Glaze knocked down the first bucket of the game 30 seconds in, and the Sabercats increased their lead to seven points - the largest lead for either team in the entire game. Alexis Johnson was front and center through the opening run, as the junior shot 7-11 from the field in the first half.

The Bruins' Sarah Thomsen matched Johnson by adding 14 points for BJU, who came back to tie the score inside the final 30 seconds. Two late free throws from Harmony Bailey restored a two-point lead for MBU entering the second quarter. (14-12) 

The second quarter was a back-and-forth brawl, as the game stayed at one possession for the first seven minutes. Maisy Alldredge came off the bench to knock down four first-half points, and the sophomore's jumper gave the Sabercats a four-point lead with 2:54 on the clock.

The Bruins pulled ahead by one point inside the final minute, but a jumper from a red-hot Alexis Johnson with 36 seconds left gave the Sabercats the lead going into the break. (35-34)

Alexis Johnson led the way for MBU with 14 points and four rebounds in the first half. Katie Bender notched four points of her own and grabbed eight rebounds through the first 20 minutes. MBU out-rebounded BJU 29-9 and had a superior field-goal percentage at 38.9.

The Bruins grabbed the lead back to start the second half and extended the lead to four, but the Sabercats regained control of the game with an 11-2 run sparked by Johnson and Bender.

Six straight points from Kelsey Johnson showed that the rookie was anything but shy of the national stage, as the freshman's efforts secured the five-point lead entering what looked to be a riveting final act. (51-46)

The Bruins looked a determined side in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, as they punished the Sabercats for five consecutive misses and made it a one-possession game with 5:00 left. The MBU miscues continued for the next minute, and a jumper from BJU's Rachel Clark tied the game and shifted the momentum in the Bruins' favor. Coach Clayton Morrison then called a timeout to help get the Sabercats back into their rhythm.

The targeted Hanna Glaze proved her all-american worth, as the senior then knocked down a crucial three-point shot to give MBU a three-point lead. Just 20 seconds later, an unfazed Hannah Tompkins answered Glaze with a treble of her own, and it was once again anyone's game with 3:00 on the clock.

A steal from Glaze allowed her to create space for a trademark Alexis Johnson jumper, which put MBU ahead 61-59 as the clock was winding down. Inside the final 20 seconds, Bender grabbed a key defensive rebound and found Glaze, who would eventually seal the game at the line for the Sabercats.

After Glaze knocked down one of her tries with 11 seconds left, she followed that up at the other end of the court by collecting the rebound from BJU's game-tying attempt. With just five seconds on the clock, the senior returned to the line and knocked down one more free throw to seal the four-point win for MBU. 

With this afternoon's result, the Sabercats (16-11) will play at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow against the #1-seeded Arlington Baptist College Patriots in the tournament semifinal.

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