February 8, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. --  After losing to Faith earlier this season, Maranatha evened the score winning 61-54 yesterday at home. 

In the win, Katelyn Morrison led her team with 23 points and 3 steals. Sarah Ureke had a stand-out game as well, scoring her career-high 21 points and grabbing 7 rebounds along with 4 steals. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 61-54 Faith
• Venue: Gymnasium - Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wisconsin
• Event: NCCAA North Region Regular Season
• Attendance: 137
• Records: MBU (4-13), FBBC (14-8)

STORY  

Back in December, Faith made history after defeating the Sabercats 60-55. This was their first victory over Maranatha in program history. Maranatha left that weekend already looking forward to the next time they would meet their rivals. The Sabercats were determined to have a different ending the next time the two teams met. And a different ending it was. 

The game started out slow for both teams. The Eagles were the first to get on the board with a quick layup within the first 30 seconds of the game. However, the score held at 2-0 for the first five minutes of the game. With 4:57 left in the first, Sarah Ureke put the Sabercats on the board with a layup. Faith quickly answered back and that is when things finally started to get rolling. The two teams battled back and forth, stealing the lead from each other. At the sound of the first buzzer, it was Faith that was on top with a small 12-10 lead. 

Once again both teams took it slow for much of the second quarter, finding the hole only two times each within the first 5 minutes. But a timeout from Coach Brown at 4:48 was just was the Sabercats needed to get things rolling. They found their needed momentum and went on a 13-3 run to overtake the Eagles. The cherry on top came from Ureke who scored a buzzer-beating layup to give her team a 10-point lead going into halftime (34-24).

Coming out after halftime Faith was not ready to give up quite yet. Mikayla Jones drained two threes to put her team back in the race. The Eagles were able to close the gap to just 4 points near the end of the third. But Ureke once again came in clutch for the Sabercats, finishing a long-range 2-pointer through contact and going to the line to make it a three-point play. (44-37).

Things only got crazier in the 4th quarter. Faith fought back to bring Maranatha's lead to only 1 point with 3 minutes to go in the game. A wide-open lane to the bucket for Lindsay Mikkelson and an O-board that led to two free-throws for Katelyn Morrison gave the Sabercats a much-needed 5-point cushion. But it only lasted for a second, as Faith's Mikayla Jones answered back with a 2-point jumper of her own. Morrison refused to give up, however, and after a timeout from Faith, she banked in a mid-range jumper to give her team their 5-point lead back. 

From that point on it, all came down to sinking free throws. Morrison and Kyria Teachout did their job going 4-6 from the line to finish the game. In the end, the Sabercats finished on top with a 61-54 win over the 14-8 Eagles. Maranatha now holds a 4-13 record overall with a 3-4 NCCAA North Region Record. They will face off against another North Region rival tomorrow in Dubuque, Iowa where they hope to pull in their third straight win. 

Get yourself a UREKE!

Sarah scores her 16th point to get us into halftime up by 10!

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�� 34-24 �� | HALF | ❄️ pic.twitter.com/8vaQohh6yg

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 7, 2023

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CAREER-HIGH 21 for Sarah Urekeeee!!

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And 1!

�� 44-37 �� | 2.2 3Q | ❄️ pic.twitter.com/yScbQBs2sq

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 7, 2023

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You can't spell "clutch" without "Katelyn"!!

Katelyn gives us a 5-pt edge!

�� 57-52 �� | 47.6 4Q | ❄️ pic.twitter.com/CrZHUbojSK

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 7, 2023

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Maranatha Starters: 4- Steuerwald, 5- Ureke, 12- Ab. Herbster, 13- Teachout, 25- Morrison

STATS

• Ureke: 21PTS*, 7REB, 4STL*
• Boxscore
• MBU: shot 33.8 percent from the field
• FBBC: shot 35.6 percent from the field
• Last time: Faith defeated Maranatha 61-5 on December 10, 2022.
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 16-1

*career-high

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 travel to Dubuque, Iowa to take on Emmaus in another NCCAA North Regional regular season matchup, on Thursday, January 19 at 4 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.