WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Last time the Sabercats played Lincoln Christian they lost by 13. Tonight was a completely different story as the Sabercats grabbed their eighth straight win.

Kelsey Johnson grabbed a career-high-tying 18 rebounds and scored 15 points while Callie Morrison continued her impressive run with 19 points.

• Result: Maranatha 62-53 Lincoln Christian
• Venue: MBU Gymnasium
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 92
• Records: MBU (13-6), LCU (11-15)

The Sabercats struggled to get good looks early on in the game, as the Red Lions forced MBU to a sub-30-percent shooting percentage throughout the majority of the first quarter. Lincoln held a five-point lead with 30 seconds on the clock, but a late connection from Sydney Luttrull and a buzzer-beater layup from Jacklyn Simpson made it a one-point game to end the quarter.

The Sabercats took their first lead of the game in the early minutes of the second quarter when Simpson slipped in another layup. Things went well when the Sabercats stayed patient, but when the Blue and Gold tried to force the issue, that allowed LCU to stay in the game. After a hard-fought first half, Luttrull and Simpson had eight points apiece and the Sabercats led 28-25.

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Maranatha just barely held the lead through most of the third quarter but the Red Lions were relentless in their pressure, grabbing the lead back with 2:00 on the clock. 

After a tight third quarter that ended with the game tied at 37, the Sabercats slowly pulled away right when it mattered most. Kelsey Johnson was the queen of the glass, as she finished the game with a career-high-tying 18 rebounds - a mark good enough for tied-fourth all-time in program history for a single game*.

A three-pointer from Johnson gave the Sabercats an eight-point edge with 5:40 left, and from then on, the Sabercats' winning rhythm showed itself once again. Down the stretch, the Sabercats held the Red Lions off to seal their eighth straight win.

As the NCCAA postseason approaches, the Sabercats have all the momentum they need.

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MBU Starters: 3-Morrison, 12-Johnson, 13-Johnson, 23-Torres, 32-Simpson // LCU Starters: 4-Brackney, 5-Crockett, 32-Smith, 40-Waid, 55-Adams

• Morrison: has double-digit points in 12 consecutive games
• Johnson: her 18 rebounds is still 4 shy of Karley Johnson's mark of 22 (2/23/18 vs Trinity Bible)
• MBU: season-high tying 54 rebounds
• MBU: third straight game with 50 or more rebounds
• Last time: the Red Lions took a 62-49 win over the Sabercats on January 10
• Series: Maranatha leads the series 27-12

• LCU competes as an NCCAA DI and NAIA DII institution
• The Red Lions hold a 2-1 record against NCCAA DII schools this season
• LCU competes in the NAIA DII in the Association of Independent Institutions conference
• Lincoln Christian used to compete with the Sabercats for the NCCAA DII Midwest Region (until 2012-13)

The Sabercats will conclude their regular season with two games against Mount Mary University. The first will be on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Milwaukee. Follow at mbusabercats.com/composite.

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*Records may be incomplete based on the season. If you have documentation of statistics missing from the all-time records, please email them to taylor.pill@mbu.edu.