LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- It was a polished performance on opening night, and the Sabercats got just what they were looking for to start the season.

Kelsey Johnson recorded 24 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds and Callie Morrison had 18 points of her own as the Sabercats beat Northland College 69-49.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 69-49 Northland
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 188
• Records: MBU (1-0), NC (2-6)

STORY

Maranatha hit the ground running in the first quarter, as Karley Johnson (six points) Krysten Lawver (four points) led the way in the early going. Maranatha had a 10-1 lead early on, but late in the first quarter, some unforced turnovers from MBU gave the Jills some extra looks.

After the first quarter ended 14-7, the Sabercats shifted it up a gear in the second - Callie Morrison led the way with 10 points in the second quarter alone as the Sabercats increased their lead to 32-20 entering halftime.

The Sabercats shot at a clip of 50 percent from the floor in the first half while their defense limited Northland to making less than a quarter of their shots in the opening 20 minutes.

When the second half hit, Kelsey Johnson took over.

The senior knocked down nine points in the opening five minutes of the third quarter, and she would eventually haul in a career-high-tying 18 rebounds while compiling 24 points on the night. The Sabercats just steadily pulled away as the game went on, wearing down a short-handed Jills squad for a stress-free first win. Coach Clayton Morrison played every available student-athlete on the night, and Liberty Bailey and Kiersten Johnson got on the stats sheet with two and three points, respectively.

Overall, it was a solid and well-balanced team win on the opening night, as the Sabercats are off to a winning start for the 2019-20 season.

--

MBU Starters: 3- Morrison, 4- Wright, 12- Johnson, 13- Johnson, 30- Lawver

STATS

• Kelsey: 24 PTS, 18 REB
• Morrison: 18 PTS, 6 REB
• Lawver: 10 PTS, 7 REB
• MBU: shot 49.1 percent from the floor
• Last year: The Sabercats won 63-58 in the second game of the season
• Series: Maranatha now leads the all-time series 4-0

OPPONENTS

• Northland competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
• Northland opened the seasons with back-to-back wins over Mount Mary and Alverno
• Northland finished last season with a 5-17 record

NEXT

The Sabercats will travel to Lawrence University on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. tip. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.