February 12, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis -- The Sabercats couldn't get the job done in their final home game of the season. They fell to Finlandia 42-102.

Michal Wagner made her first collegiate start in the game, as the team recognized her and Katelyn Morrison, the two seniors on the team. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 42-102 Finlandia
• Venue: Gymnasium - Marnatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wisconsin
• Event: Parent Day/Senior Day
• Attendance: 102
• Records: MBU (4-14), FinnU (11-11)

STORY    

After losing to Finlandia back in January (35-106), Maranatha knew it was going to be a tough match-up. Struggling with sickness and injuries, the Sabercats did not have the same energy that has been present in their last few games. However, they still put up a fight against Finlandia early on. The Lions were the first to get on the board, but Kyria Teachout was able to answer back quickly with a layup to even things back up. The Lions went on a 10-2 run to pull away, but Maranatha held on and a layup from Chloe Steuerwald in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter kept the Sabercats at an 8-point deficit at the buzzer. 

It was the second quarter that things seemed to fall apart for Maranatha. No one for the Sabercats could seem to get things going offensively. Turnovers and poor transition defense led to a 17-3 run for the Lions. Maranatha found themselves behind 19-50 at the half. 

In the third quarter, the Lions found themselves in some foul trouble early on and the Sabercats took that to their advantage. In double-bonus with over 6 1/2 minutes to go in the quarter, the Sabercats tried to show more aggression on offense to earn some free shots to help with their score. 11 of their 14 points in the third came from the free-throw line, led by Katelyn Morrison who went 5-6.

In the final quarter, Coach Brown turned to his bench to see what they could produce, and while nobody produced amazing numbers on the scoreboard, coaches were happy to see more contributors in the game. While Katelyn Morrison still led her team, finishing with 12 points, Steuerwald, Kyria Teachout, and Lindsay Mikkelson all contributed 8 points during the night. Maranatha also saw a couple of points apiece from freshmen Annie Herbster and Beka Donovan. The Sabercats fell at the end 42-102. 

With it being the last home game of the season, the Sabercat seniors were recognized during the game. Thanks were given to Katelyn Morrison and Michal Wagner for their dedication and leadership throughout their years playing. Wagner had her first collegiate start in the game. 

While they may not have any more games at home, Maranatha's regular season is not yet done. They have three games left to play, one of which is an NCCAA North Region matchup. 

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

STATS

• Box score
• MBU: shot 23.9 percent from the field
• FinnU: shot 49.4 percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha fell 35-106 to Finlandia on January 20, 2022
• Series: Finlandia leads the all-time series against Maranatha 7-0 

OPPONENTS

• Finlandia competes in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (NCAA DIII)
• Finlandia fell 53-66 to Mary Washington in last season's C2C Quarter-finals 
• Finlandia finished the '21-'22 season with a 14-9overall record

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on Mount Mary, Thursday 7:00 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.