February 25, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- It was nervy for a while, but the Sabercats came through in the clutch to knock off the #1-seeded Emmaus Eagles 67-58 today to advance to the North Region Championship.

Katelyn Morrison came through when it counted for 10 fourth-quarter points, and with the win, the Sabercats face #2 Trinity Bible College at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow for the regional title and a spot in the National Championship. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: #4 Maranatha 67-58 #1 Emmaus
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Event: NCCAA North Region Semifinal
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 197
• Records: MBU (7-16), EBC (13-10) 

STORY 

The first half was high-tempo and eager, as both teams came out shooting in the opening 10 minutes. The Eagles seemed to be targeting Callie Morrison, holding her to just 2-10 shooting in the first half, which added even more responsibility to the rest of the Sabercats' lineup. Katelyn Morrison rose to the occasion by posting 10 points while Kyria Teachout and Sarah Rogers added eight and seven, respectively.

It was a total team effort in the first half, as it needed to be. The Sabercats shared the scoring and went into halftime up 32-29 over the hard-charging Eagles.

This was always slated to be a nail-biter, and when the Eagles made it a one-point game going into the fourth, the crowd inside the MBU gym came to the edge of their seats. And the game was on the edge of a knife.

Katelyn Morrison stayed cool just when it mattered most, as she seemed to come up at just the right spot at just the right time throughout the fourth quarter. A quick steal from Callie inside the final two minutes was a crucial moment in the game, as Katelyn went sprinting ahead to receive a pass on the fast break and put Maranatha up by three. 

MORRISONS ARE THE BEST!!! ��

MBU 59
EBC 56

1:08 left x our timeout x ❄️ pic.twitter.com/NFnC6vsCDO

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 25, 2022

Fittingly, Katelyn delivered the dagger with just 45 seconds left, as she sent a three-pointer sailing towards the stage end of the MBU Gymnasium to put Maranatha up by six (watch on Instagram here).

Swish.

From there, it was a matter of closing the game out from the free-throw line, and Callie stepped up and didn't miss, going a perfect 4-4 to extend her senior season, knock off the #1 seed, and give Maranatha a ticket to the North Region Championship. 

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Maranatha Starters: 3- C. Morrison, 13- Teachout, 20- Rogers, 25- K. Morrison, 32- J. Brown // Emmaus starters: 13- Muranaka, 21- Harding, 25- Gelinas, 33- Boyer, 41- Wiest

STATS

• Katelyn: 23 PTS, 4 REB
• Callie: 16 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL
• Teachout: 10 PTS, 4 REB, 2 BLK
• Rogers: 9 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 4 STL
• MBU: 42.6 FG%
• Last time: This season, Maranatha won 54-42 in Watertown in November and Emmaus won 65-64 in Iowa in February
• Series: Maranatha and Emmaus have now met in the North Region semifinals four years in a row
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series 22-10

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus held the best North Region record coming into the tournament at 9-1
• Emmaus lost to the Sabercats in each of the last three NCCAA North Region semifinals
• Emmaus just finished runners-up at the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament

NEXT

The Sabercats take on the #2-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow for the North Region Championship. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.