ANKENY, Iowa --- In the third-place game at the NCCAA DII National Tournament, the Sabercats fell 38-66 to a polished Randall University squad. With the loss, the Sabercats conclude their 2016-17 season with a 3-2 postseason showing and a final record of 16-13 - their first winning season in four years.

Seniors Hanna Glaze, Emilee Hansel, and Julie Roer were all on the floor as the horn sounded, as each player concluded their MBU careers with this game. Hansel and Roer were four-year players, and Glaze (two-year MBU career) led MBU with 12 points.

The Sabercats were ahead just once in the game, as Alexis Johnson converted a free throw for the game's first basket. Any game-opening MBU momentum was then halted by a 9-2 run from the Saints, who punished the Sabercats for frequent turnovers through the opening minutes of the game.

Five points from Johnson kept the Sabercats within striking distance of the Saints, but Randall pulled away in the final few minutes of the quarter, as they punished MBU for continued turnovers, which amounted to eight total in the first quarter. After the first 10 minutes, Randall held a nine-point lead. (9-18)

The second quarter was more closely matched, as the Sabercats cleaned up their possession. Randall outscored the Sabercats by just three, and a jumper from Karley Johnson made it a five-point game with just over five minutes left. Although MBU was the better team in the opening minutes of the second quarter, that five-point gap was as close as the Sabercats would come for the remainder of the game. The Saints began to execute their offensive game plan and pull away to close the first half with a dozen-point lead. (20-32)

The final two quarter held identical scores, as the Saints surged further and further out of sight. While the Sabercats possessed the ball more cleanly in the second half, they had difficulty converting their chances, as they shot less than 25 percent from the field against a tightly-matched Randall defense.

On the other side of the ball, the Sabercats had their hands full in dealing with the unpredictable Saints' offense, which had three players in double figures by the end of the game. Hanna Glaze and Julie Roer played all of the final 10 minutes of the game, and Glaze - fittingly - led MBU with points in the final quarter with five.

At the sound of the horn the Sabercats' hopes at the upset were officially ended, as they finished a noteworthy NCCAA postseason run with the loss. (38-66)

The Sabercats finished the season with seven wins in their last 10 games, and finished with an overall NCCAA DII record of 9-3.

For more on the Sabercats, visit their team page (click here)