THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 53-59 Lincoln Christian
• Venue: Laughlin Center, Lincoln Christian University
• Attendance: 135
• Record: Sabercats are now 7-12
• Next Game for MBU: Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. vs Great Lakes (Parents' Day)

THE LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- An 18-point outing from Alexis Bueltel and another double-double from Kelsey Johnson powered a series sweep of Grace Bible College tonight on the MBU campus.

Made in Stephenson, Michigan, MBU's performance snapped a 4-game losing streak, and it was the Sabercats' second-best shooting game of the season to date.

THE STORY

Starting out, it was open season on the hoops, as the two teams shot above 50 percent from the field. Katie Bender had a hot start, as she tallied 7 points to lead the Sabercats in the first quarter. When the 10 minutes expired, both teams had amassed 22 points. An offensive battle was in the forecast.

But after the open and high-scoring first quarter, both defenses tightened up in the second period. The game stayed close from start to finish in the first half, and Bender beat the buzzer to put the Sabercats ahead by 1 entering halftime.

Bender led MBU with 10 first-half points.

From the first quarter on, it turned into an out-and-out defensive battle. Both teams probed, but they couldn't find the holes they needed to gain any serious momentum. Quarters 2 and 3 yielded just one more bucket than the first quarter alone.

Enter Bueltel and Johnson, who put up 7 points each in the final quarter, fueling a runaway win in the close contest. The sister act gave the Sabercats a 10-0 run in the last 3 minutes, which essentially sealed the Tigers' fate.

MBU shot 7-11 in the last 10 minutes while holding Grace to making just 2 of their 10 tries.

THE NUMBERS

Bueltel scored 18 points and chalked up 7 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Johnson had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Johnson leads the team with 7 double-doubles this season.

Bender finished with 13 points and 6 boards.

Karley Johnson added 10 points for good measure.

The 67-point mark was the highest this month for the Sabercats.

The Sabercats haven't lost a game this season while shooting better than 40 percent from the field.

The all-time series now stands at 27-10 in favor of MBU.

THE OUTLOOK

The Sabercats will host Great Lakes Christian College for a 1 p.m. Parents' Day tipoff on Saturday. The teams have met just once - it was last year, and the Sabercats won by a score of 54-42.

Follow live at mbusabercats.com/composite.