November 18, 2022 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

Maranatha, Wis. -- The Sabercats were celebrating last night after they received their first win of the season. They defeated long-time North Region rival Emmaus Bible College with a score of 62-32. 

In the win, senior Katelyn Morrison and freshmen Sarah Ureke and Lindsay Mikkelson all scored in double digits. Ureke led the pack with 20-points, an early career-high for her. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 62-32 Emmaus
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University - Gymnasium
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Event: NCCAA North Region - Regular Season
• Attendance: 78
• Records: MBU (1-3), EBC (0-2)

STORY

The Sabercats will be heading into Thanksgiving break on a high note. Not only did they seal their first win of the season, not only did they do it on their home court, but it was against their long-time NCCAA North Region rival Emmaus Bible College! 

Going into the game, Maranatha had a confidence within them that had yet to be seen in their season. Not happy with the outcomes of their last three games, the Sabercats were determined to clean things up in this game... and that's exactly what they did. In their first possession of the game, Sarah Ureke drained a 3-point shot, giving her team the first points of the game. Things only got better from there as the Sabercats swarmed the Eagles and stole the ball six times in the first 10-minutes of the game. Maranatha demonstrated their speed as they pushed the ball up the court, resulting in multiple layups. 

At halftime, the Sabercats were feeling good. They had a 31-14 lead and only committed 7 turnovers. This was a HUGE improvement for the team, which had been averaging around 20 first-half turnovers in the last three games. Coach Brown put his starters back on the court to start the second half and thanks to Ureke, who absolutely went off in the 3rd quarter, Brown felt confident enough to pull his starters and give his bench a chance to shine. The reserves kept their composure and finished the game strong for the Sabercats. At the final buzzer, Maranatha led 62-32.

A big congrats to the team and also to Coach Brown on his first win with the Sabercats!

NEW GAME PLAN:

pass the ball to Sarah. pic.twitter.com/BeYWOXytTe

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) November 17, 2022

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Maranatha Starters: 5- Ureke, 12- Ab. Herbster, 13- Teachout, 25- Morrison, 30- Greene

STATS

• MBU: shot 37 percent from the field
• EBC: shot 26.3 percent from the field
• Sarah Ureke: 20 PTS*, 5 REB, 3 STL, 1 AST
• Katelyn Morrison: 18 PTS, 7 REB, 6 STL*, 3 AST
• Lindsay Mikkelson: 11 PTS, 9 REB, 2 STL
• Kyria Teachout: 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 BLK
• Ashleigh Mullikin: 2 PTS, 3 REB, 1 STL
• Sara Herrera: 2 PTS, 1 REB, 1 STL
• Kaili Swaffer: 1 PTS, 3 REB, 2 STL
• Last time: Maranatha beat Emmaus 67-58 in last year's NCCAA North Region semi-final 
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series 26-10 against the Emmaus

*Career-High

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus compete in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Emmaus also competes with Maranatha in the NCCAA DII North Region
• Maranatha and Emmaus have met in the North Region semifinals four years in a row
• Emmaus lost to the Sabercats in each of the last  four NCCAA North Region semifinals
• Emmaus finished the '21-'22 season with a record of 13-10

NEXT

The Sabercats stay in Watertown, Wisconsin where they take on Crown College on Tuesday, Nov. 29th at 4 p.m. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.