LEAD

LINCOLN, Ill. -- The Sabercats wasted no time at NCCAA DI Lincoln Christian University tongight, and they have a 65-43 win to show for it.

The win marks the Sabercats' first win in 2021, and the took it in style. Emily Johnson put up 17 points and four assists, and Callie Morrison had 16 points, eight boards, and four assists on the night.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 65-43 Lincoln Christian
• Venue: Gaston Arena, Lincoln Christian University
• Location: Lincoln, Ill.
• Attendance: (closed doors)
• Records: MBU (4-6), LCU (3-2)

STORY

Maranatha was calling all the shots in the opening exchanges. Their up-tempo offense kept the Red Lions guessing, and after 10 fast-paced minutes, the Sabercats shot themselves to a 20-6 lead. Not much changed going into the halftime break - Maranatha displayed a high-paced offense to keep Lincoln Christian on the back foot. Johnson couldn't miss in the second quarter, going 5-5 from the floor and 3-3 from distance to put up 13 points and give Maranatha a 39-19 advantage.

The second half was just a matter of holding the Red Lions off, as the Blue and Gold coasted to the finish. Sarah Rogers added four bench points in the third quarter and the starters capped all the scoring in the fourth quarter. Maranatha out-rebounded Lincoln Christian 46-24 on the night while holding their hosts to shooting just over 23 percent.

Overall, it was the fast-paced and precise team performance that Maranatha had been missing, and they will look to make tonight's result the start of a winning streak.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- C. Morrison, 4- Johnson, 5- Hansel, 25- K. Morrison, 32- Simpson // Lincoln Christian Starters: 3- Seidel, 5- Price, 10- McClure, 21- Henningsen, 32- Smith

STATS

• Johnson: 17 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST
• Morrison: 16 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL
• Claire Hansel: 9 PTS, 7 REB
• Jacklyn Simpson: 9 PTS, 7 REB
• Katelyn Schultz: 10 REB (ties career high)
• Rebounding: Maranatha 46-24 Lincoln Christian
• MBU: 50 percent from the field
• MBU: 50 percent from distance
• Last time: The Sabercats won twice last season
• Series: Maranatha now leads the all-time series 30-12

OPPONENTS

• Lincoln Christian competes in the NAIA as an independent member
• Lincoln Christian also competes in the NCCAA DI
• Lincoln Christian used to compete with Maranatha for the NCCAA DII Midwest Region

NEXT

The Sabercats return home Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. against Emmaus for their first home game of 2021. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.