WATERTOWN, Wis. --- Against NAIA standouts Indiana University-Northwest, the Sabercats ended well, but ultimately fell by a score of 56-78 on a Thursday night in Watertown. Kelsey Johnson was the main threat for MBU, as the rookie recorded a double-double which included a career-high 20 points. 

A couple of buckets from Kelsey Johnson and Hanna Glaze helped the Sabercats get things going early on, as they took the lead out of the gate with a purposeful look to their attack.

Turnovers late in the first quarter put a kink in the Sabercats' momentum, and the Red Hawks took advantage to record an 11-0 run going into the final minute. One late Kelsey Johnson free throw ended the Red Hawks' run, but the momentum was in the visitors' favor after the first quarter. (15-26)

The Red Hawks utilized a combination of strong play in the key and accurate shooting from three-point range to pull ahead in the second quarter. IUNW limited themselves to six turnovers while shooting 55.9 percent from the field to take a firm grip on the contest. The Sabercats cooled down with their shooting, as alert Red Hawk defending forced the Sabercats' hand.

After a lopsided 10-minutes, the Red Hawks led 21-51 going into the break.

Kelsey Johnson recorded 13 points in the first half to lead MBU while Nicki Monahan added 16 for IUNW. 

The Red Hawks maintained their advantage in the third, keeping the efforts of Kelsey Johnson and the Sabercats at bay. Johnson reached a career-high 15 points during the third quarter and would go on to add three more points in the third act.

Alexis Johnson made the highlight reel with a buzzer-beating deep three from the hip to put an exclamation point on a quarter where the Sabercats were altogether more even with the Red Hawks. The Sabercats matched the Red Hawks in the third quarter with 21 points. (44-70)

The Johnson sisters kept things going early on to try to keep the Sabercats in the game, but in spite of the persistence from the Sabercats, the Red Hawks cruised to the comfortable win after a cagey fourth quarter. MBU outscored IUNW for the first time by holding a 12-8 advantage in the last quarter - a fact that marked MBU's improvement as the game matured.

All in all, the Sabercats outscored the Red Hawks 33-29 in the second half.

This was the first meeting between the two teams in program history. With the loss, the Sabercats fall to 9-10 on the year.

The Sabercats continue their seven-game home stand with a 7:00 p.m. AD3I clash with Mount Mary University on Thursday night.

Watch the game live via Facebook Live (/MBUSabercats) or at mbusabercats.com/live.