NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team continued its strong stretch of play to start the new year with an 80-55 win over Maranatha Baptist University (MBU) on Tuesday. 

The Knights controlled the game from start to finish, winning all four quarters and showcasing their depth both inside and out.

MLC held an 18-12 lead after the first quarter, and then started to break the game open in the second quarter en route to a 38-24 halftime lead.

The Sabercats tried to hang around in the second half, but the Knights never allowed the lead to dip into single digits before putting the game away for good in the final quarter.

The bench came up big for MLC as several starters battled foul trouble. The Knights' reserves outscored the Sabercats' bench 37-10 for the game, with Emily Rothfuss (11 points, nine rebounds) and Sadie Schultz (10 points) leading the charge.

MLC also held a big advantage down low, outscoring MBU 42-28 in the paint and 21-10 on fast break opportunities.

Erika Gosch led the Knights with 14 points. Jordyn Heckendorf added 11 points in only 15 minutes.

The Knights improved to 4-9 on the season with the win. MBU fell to 3-8 in defeat.

MLC will return to action on Friday, January 14, when it hosts Northwestern-St. Paul in a game scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.