November 20, 2021 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- When crunch time came, the Sabercats were a force to be reckoned with this afternoon, as they opened their home games with a 54-42 North Region win over Emmaus Bible College.

Callie Morrison lead Maranatha with 21 points and Kyria Teachout added 15. Maranatha out-scored Emmaus 15-5 in the final 10 minutes to go into Thanksgiving Break with a 12-point win.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 54-42 Emmaus
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 89
• Records: MBU (1-1), EBC (2-3) 

STORY

The North Region clash was tight right from the get-go, as Emmaus came out hot and shot their way to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. The Sabercats needed the opening 10 to settle into a rhythm, but they quickly found their stride. Callie was exposing the holes in the Emmaus defense to get Teachout and Katelyn Morrison on the board, and going into the halftime, the score was deadlocked at 23.

Emmaus kept it close in the third quarter, and five points from the line from Callie helped to gave the Sabercats a slim two-point lead going into the fourth frame. Emmaus looked determined - after all, Maranatha had ended their season in each of the previous three North Region semifinals, so the Eagles looked up for the some revenge. 

But it took just a few minutes for the Eagles' resolve to be negated, as the Sabercats virtually shut down the Eagles' offense, limiting them to shooting just 2-13 in the closing stretch. At the other end of the court, the Sabercats sealed the game from the line, going 8-10 from the charity stripe to run away with the win and execcute the game plan down the stretch. Katelyn (4-4) and Callie (2-2) didn't miss their free throws when it mattered most, as the Sabercats sprinted away from the Eagles to open their home games with a 12-point clutch North Region win.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- C. Morrison, 4- Massey, 13- Teachout, 20- Rogers, 25- K. Morrison // Emmaus Starters: 10- Harwood, 12- Wiest, 21- Harding, 25- Gelinas, 33- Boyer

STATS

• Callie Morrison: 21 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST
• Teachout: 15 PTS, 6 REB, 2 BLK
• Katelyn Morrison: 25 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL
• MBU: 18-25 FT
• Last time: Maranatha defeated Emmaus 67-62 in OT in the North region tournament on February 26
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Emmaus 21-9

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus competes with Maranatha in the NCCAA DII North Region
• Emmaus also competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference

NEXT

The Sabercats will head to Minnesota after Thanksgiving break to face North Central on December 3 at 3:00 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.