January 7, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

ST BONIFACIOUS, Minn. -- The Crown College Storm heated up their shooting to secure a 22-point win on their home floor today, as the Sabercats resumed play for the 2021-22 season with a 56-78 North Region loss.

Callie Morrison led Maranatha with 22 points while Katelyn Morrison added 18. Maranatha shot just over 39 percent from the floor while Crown maintained a clip of 47.8 percent to go wire-to-wire in the win.

OVERVIEW

• Result: No. 10 Maranatha 56-78 Crown
• Venue: Wild Athletic Center, Crown College
• Event: NCCAA North Region
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 87
• Records: MBU (3-5), CC (4-3) 

STORY

Crown wasted no time in getting into a playing rhythm, as they put up 10 unanswered points to hit the ground running. Crown out-rebounded the Sabercats 16-5 and shot over 50 percent from the field to fly out to a 26-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the story didn't change much in the second act, as Crown stayed hot and extended their lead six more points. Callie and Katelyn put up all but four points for Maranatha in the first half, who entered halftime down 22-44 and looking for answers.

The third quarter was the Sabercats' best, as they out-scored the Storm 22-14 thanks to a balanced scoring effort. Sara Herrera, Grace Massey, and Kyria Teachout joined Callie and Katelyn in the box score and the Sabercats looked like they had some new life. But the terminal damage had already been done, as the Storm held off any hopes of a Maranatha comeback, closing out the North Region win to the tune of 78-56. Madison Morken put up 14 points to lead the Storm, who had a well-balanced scoring effort from start to finish in the North Region win.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- C. Morrison, 4- Massey, 25- K. Morrison, 30- L. Brown, 32- J. Brown // Crown starters: 1- Ray, 10- Thompson, 20- Smalley, 25- Laverty, 55- Zachary

STATS

• Callie: 22 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST
• Katelyn: 18 PTS, 2 REB, 2 BLK
• Teachout: 8 PTS, 6 REB, 3 STL
• Crown: 47.8 FG%
• Maranatha: 39.3 FG%
• Last time: Maranatha won 78-59 at Crown in the 2019-20 season
• Series: Maranatha now leads the all-time series 8-7

OPPONENTS

• Crown competes with the Sabercats in the NCCAA North Region
• Crown also competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA DIII)
• Crown re-joined the NCCAA this year after a five-year hiatus

NEXT

The Sabercats will return from Christmas break by visiting Crown (Minn.) on January 7 at 3:00 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.