WATERTOWN, Wis. -- After 40 minutes of tight basketball at MBU, the Sabercats were forced to wait even longer to get revenge on Emmaus Bible College.

The Eagles, who beat the Sabercats in the 2018 NCCAA North Region Championship, took a 71-64 win over MBU in a competitive game in Watertown. Karley Johnson and Kelsey Johnson posted double-doubles, and Maisy Alldredge logged a career-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough.

• Result: No. 6 Maranatha 64-71 (RV) Emmaus
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 121
• Records: MBU (1-3), EBC (3-8)

By halftime, the box score showed just how even things were. Both teams registered 15 points in the first quarter, then MBU held a 16-15 edge in the second. Here's how it happened.

Emmaus jumped out to an early 9-2 lead as the Sabercats struggled with turnovers early on, but the Sabercats bounced back to tie the game at 15 to end the quarter after Callie Morrison and Karley Johnson logged five and six points, respectively.

The second quarter held more of the same, but the most noticeable difference between the two teams at halftime was the Sabercats' 10 turnovers compared to just two from Emmaus. Despite coughing the ball up, the Sabercats held the one-point advantage into the halftime break. Morrison had upped her count to nine points while Karley was at 11.

-

At the end of the day, turnovers were the difference for MBU, as they gave it away 18 times in the second half and 28 times in the contest - marks that made their superior rebounding and shooting insignificant. By the end of the encounter, Emmaus had 74 looks at the basket while MBU only had 55.

MBU procured their biggest lead of the night with a six-point edge in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but the Eagles came back and kept their foot on the gas until the game came to a close.

--

MBU Starters: 3-Morrison, 5-Hansel, 12-Johnson, 13-Johnson, 32-Alldredge // EBC Starters: 1-Kimble, 21-Harding, 23-Kerttula, 25-Gelinas, 44-Williams

• Morrison: 6 assists - her highest mark this season
• Kelsey: 21 points, 11 rebounds - her second straight game with 20 points
• Alldredge: career-high 17 points
• Karley: 13 points, 13 rebounds
• Rebounding: MBU 48-32 EBC
• Turnovers: MBU 28-9 EBC
• Last meeting: Emmaus beat Maranatha in the NCCAA North Region Championship, 85-66
• Series: MBU leads the series, 19-8

• The Eagles join the Sabercats in the NCCAA North Region
• Emmaus took home the NCCAA North Region title last year
• EBC finished last season with a record of 18-15
• EBC'S Tiffany Williams leads the Eagles with 13.8 points per game

The Sabercats will host Alverno College on Monday night for a 7:00 p.m. tip. Follow at mbusabercats.com/composite.