December 10, 2021 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

ANKENY, Iowa -- The tenth-ranked Sabercats got on the board early and never looked back, picking up a 58-40 wire-to-wire win over Calvary University to open the Faith Christmas Classic.

Katelyn Morrison led Maranatha with 17 points while Callie Morrison and Kyria Teachout both reached double digits. The Sabercats will take on Faith tomorrow to conclude the weekend in Iowa.

OVERVIEW

• Result: No. 10 Maranatha 58-40 Calvary
• Venue: Nettleton Center, Faith Baptist Bible College
• Location: Ankeny, Iowa
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (2-4), CU (0-4)

STORY

The Sabercats got right down to business in the first quarter, putting up 19 points while holding Calvary to single digits. Maranatha moved the ball the way they wanted to, as Callie (4) and Katelyn (2) combined for six assists in the 10-minute stretch, which was the highest-scoring first quarter of the Sabercats' season.

But the Sabercats cooled down after that hot start, as they shot just over 21 percent in the next two quarters combined. To compensate, the Sabercats locked down their defense as best they could but Calvary made it a seven-point game going into the fourth quarter.

Just when the pressure started to mount, the Sabercats turned around their performance, holding the Warriors to single digits once again while putting up 14 points in the final act. Sara Herrera came off the bench to log six points and four rebounds, as the Sabercats rolled away to their second North Region win of the season.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- C. Morrison, 13- Teachout, 20- Rogers, 25- K. Morrison, 30- L. Brown // Calvary starters: 1- Roach, 13- Mcgee, 21- Cornejo, 23- Jones, 40- Kilzer

STATS

• K. Morrison: 17 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL
• Teachout: 12 PTS, 9 REB
• C. Morrison: 11 REB, 8 REB, 4 AST 
• Calvary: 28 TO 
• Last time: Maranatha defeated Calvary 65-59 on December 11, 2020
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Calvary 2-0

OPPONENTS

• Calvary competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Calvary has only faced Maranatha once, which was at the Faith Christmas Classic in 2020

NEXT

The Sabercats stay in Ankeny to face Faith tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to round out their tournament play. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.