WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Great Lakes Christian College Crusaders started hot and never looked back tonight, taking a 79-41 win over the Sabercats in Watertown.

Maranatha struggled with possession in the contest, turning it over 36 times, and Great Lakes out-played Maranatha in and around the rim. Paige Joiner led Maranatha with 15 points on the night.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 41-79 Great Lakes 
• Venue: MBU Gymnasium
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Event: NCCAA Midwest Region - Regular Season
• Records: MBU (0-15), GLCC (7-7)

STORY 
The Crusaders started out hot and never looked back, putting up a 21-6 advantage after the first quarter alone. The visitors had seven more shots than the Sabercats, who struggled to find a finishing rhyhtm, connecting just 3-12 shots in the opening act. Devan Buda was the main character for the Crusaders, putting up 9 points in the first quarter alone. Buda would go on to lead everyone with 25 points on the night.

The turnovers continued to hurt the Sabercats throughout, as the Crusaders converted some of the Sabercats' miscues into 25 points off turnovers on the night.

The narrative stayed mostly consistent throughout the contest - Great Lakes steadily out-played the Sabercats in almost every respect, but the Sabercats finished strong with an 18-16 advantage in the fourth quarter. Lucy Sainsbury led the efforts for Maranatha with 6 points, and four points apiece from Paige Joiner and Lindsay Mikkelson helped the Sabercats end with a positive final quarter to close out the contest.
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Maranatha Starters: 4-Steuerwald, 10-Joiner, 12- Cook, 13-Teachout (C), 21-Mikkelson (C)

STATS 

• P. Joiner: 15 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST
• L. Mikkelson: 8 PTS, 6 REB
• C. Steuerwald: 8 PTS, 2 REB
• Last time: Maranatha fell to Great Lakes 32-86 in Lansing on January 17
• Series: Great Lakes leads the all time series against Maranatha 5-2

OPPONENTS

• Great Lakes competes in the NCCAA Midwest Region alongside Maranatha 
• Great Lakes finished last season with a 16-12 record
• Great Lakes won the NCCAA Midwest Region Championship and fell in the NCCAA National Elite Eight to Toccoa Falls

NEXT

The Sabercats stay home to face the Alumnae Squad on Saturday at 2:00 PM Central. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.