December 3, 2022 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

HANCOCK, Mich. -- Maranatha came up short this weekend in Finlandia. They lost to North Central University 40-93.

Sarah Ureke led the Sabercats with 14 points. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 40-93 North Central
• Venue: Paavo Nurmi Center - Finlandia University
• Location: Hancock, Mich.
• Event: NCCAA North Region - Regular Season
• Attendance: 35
• Records: MBU (1-5), NCC (5-3)

STORY

A few early baskets from Kyria Teachout and Katelyn Morrison put the Sabercats on the board quickly. It was back and forth between the two teams for much of the first quarter giving Maranatha the idea that this would be a close match-up. But early hope started to fade as the Sabercats struggled to finish their shot opportunities. 

A tight full-court pressure from the Rams started to get to Maranatha, and after a string of turnovers, North Central was able to pull ahead late in the first quarter. But Maranatha didn't give up and they returned from halftime producing their best quarter of the game. 

But history was again repeated as this third-quarter spurt of energy was not enough to overcome the first-half deficit. In the end, the Sabercats fell to North Central 40-93. 

Maranatha will have no time to rest as they turn around again on Monday to travel to Illinois. Here they will take on Trinity Christian and look to put this weekend's games in the past. 

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

STATS

• Boxscore
• MBU: shot 26.2 percent from the field
• NCC: shot 49.4 percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha fell to North Central 47-84 on February 1st, 2022.
• Series: North Central currently leads the all-time series against Maranatha 14-8

OPPONENTS

• North Central competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA-DIII)
• North Central also competes alongside Maranatha in the NCCAA-DII North Region
• North Central finished the '21-'22 season with a record of 24-5
• North Central won the '21-'22 UMAC Championship
• North Central lost to UW Eau-Claire in the NCAA DIII National Tournament

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Palos Heights, Illinois to take on Trinity Christian on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.