WATERTOWN, Wis. --- The Sabercats came out with a new starting lineup against Great Lakes Christian College to take a 54-42 win on the home floor. It was a tale of two squads, as the MBU bench finished what the original five started.

Alexis Johnson led MBU with 12 points to help lift the Sabercats to an 11-10 record on the season.

The underclassmen Hannah May, Hannah Wells, and Joylynn Molencupp comprised the starting lineup for MBU, and the trio was joined by seniors Emilee Hansel and Julie Roer.

The first half had two similar quarters, as MBU's squad put up a dozen points in each of the opening 10-minute segments. The starting five came out with a quick, up-tempo offense and an eye for the bucket to put the Lakes under immediate pressure.

Despite creating chances, the Sabercats could not finish as many as they would have liked, and had to fight 17 turnovers in the first half. However, MBU managed to keep the Lakes behind them in the early goings thanks to a spirited defensive effort - led by Roer and Hansel - which limited GLCC to shooting just 25 percent from the field.

May was the primary contributor for MBU with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes. This was the fourth time this season that the Yooper has logged double figures. May was backed up by five points from both Roer and Amanda Rodriguez. 

This was the first time in their careers that the underclassmen Wells and Molencupp had been included in the starting lineup. Entering the break, MBU led by four points and limited Great Lakes to 20. (24-20)

The Sabercats stayed just ahead of the Lakes through the first six minutes of a third quarter which yielded less than 10 points for both teams. Then, coach Clayton Morrison went to the bench to put in the five who have been the regular starters for MBU during the past few weeks.

Those five picked up right where the original five left off, and even increased the lead near the end of the third quarter when Hanna Glaze knocked down a couple of free throws to increase the lead to six. (33-27)

Meanwhile, the Sabercats had to combat the quickness of Valerie Murillo, who led the visitors with 19 points on the night.

The fourth quarter saw the Sabercats pull away once and for all, as the Sabercats settled into a rhythm to post 21 points - their biggest sum in any of the four quarters. The Lakes had their best offensive showing as well, but their 15-point effort was not enough to erase their accumulated deficit.

Kelsey Johnson posted nine points in the last 10 minutes, and the Sabercats' sharp possession allowed them to cruise to a comfortable win over their Mideast opponent.

This was the first meeting between the two teams, as MBU takes the win in the inaugural matchup.

The Sabercats will stay at home next week with 5 p.m. contests against Trinity International (Feb. 14) and Moody Bible (Feb. 16), and will conclude the week with a 3:00 p.m. Parents' Day outing against NCCAA DI opponents Lincoln Christian on Feb. 18.

You can catch all of those games live at mbusabercats.com/live and via Facebook Live (/MBUSabercats).