December 12, 2022 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ANKENY, Iowa --  In a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle, Maranatha fell to Faith 55-61 last weekend at the Faith Christmas Classic. 

Despite fouling out in the 4th quarter, Katelyn Morrison had a great game. She led her team with 23 points and 8 steals. She also contributed 6 rebounds, which was the individual high for Maranatha. Kyria Teachout helped lead the Sabercats with 6 rebounds as well. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 55-60 Faith
• Venue: Nettleton Courts - Faith Baptist Bible College
• Location: Ankeny, Iowa
• Event: Faith Christmas Classic
  • NCCAA North Region Regular Season
• Attendance: 147
• Records: MBU (2-7), FBBC (3-5)

STORY

Despite the news that starting point-guard Sarah Ureke would be out for the game, the Sabercats felt ready to go. While both teams struggled to find the hoop in the first few minutes of the game, Abbie Herbster was eventually able to get things rolling with a mid-range jumper. Katelyn Morrison quickly added four more points to give the Sabercats a 6-0 start. 

Going into the second quarter, Maranatha held a small lead. But Faith was starting to heat up. A 3-point shot from Faith's Mikayla Jones gave the Eagles their first lead of the game (15-13). Going into halftime Faith found themselves with a 28-20 lead over Maranatha. 

But in the third quarter, it was all Maranatha. Morrison was all over the court, getting steal after steal. Back-to-back threes from Morrison and Mikkelson had Maranatha right back in the game. At the sound of the buzzer, the Sabercats had taken hold of the lead once more (42-40).

In the final quarter, Faith started to feel something from behind the arc. They knocked down multiple 3's and the Sabercats had no answer. Maranatha fought hard to the finish but ultimately came up short with a final score of 55-61. 

The Sabercats will return to their home court this Tuesday in what will be their last game until January.  

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Maranatha Starters: 12- Ab. Herbster, 13- Teachout, 21- Mikkelson, 25- Morrison, 30- Greene

STATS

• Boxscore
• MBU: shot 31 percent from the field
• FBBC: shot 33.9 percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha defeated Faith 51-41 on February 8, 2022.
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 15-1

OPPONENTS

• Faith competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Faith also competes alongside Maranatha in the National Christian Athletic Association (DII North Region)
• Faith finished the '21-'22 season with a 6-15 record

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown, Wisconsin to face Illinois Tech in their last game of the year on Tuesday, December 13 at 6 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.