WATERTOWN, Wis. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team finished strong to secure a 62-50 win at Maranatha Baptist University (MBU) on Saturday.

Offense was difficult to come by for both teams for much of the night in a physical game that featured 51 total fouls, but the Knights battled through as they outrebounded the Sabercats 43-24 and outscored them 14-7 in second-chance points for the game.

The Knights held a 25-24 lead at the half, but started to pull away in the third quarter as they took a 42-36 lead into the final period.

MBU made a run to start the fourth quarter and trailed 51-50 with 5:14 to play in the game, but the MLC defense shut the door the rest of the way, holding the Sabercats scoreless for the final five-plus minutes to close the game on an 11-0 run and securing the win.

After struggling to start the game at the free throw line, the Knights finished the day 19-29 from the charity stripe and made their last five attempts in the final minute to close the game.

Lauren Paulsen led MLC with 15 points and made all six of her attempts from the free throw line in the win, while Emily Rothfuss added 11 points on 4-6 shooting. Paulsen also led the Knights with 12 rebounds and four assists, while Emma Nelson added 10 rebounds to go with her eight points. 

MLC improved to 6-13 on the season and finished a season sweep of the Sabercats with the win. MBU fell to 3-10 in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, February 4, when they host UW-Superior in a game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.