WATERTOWN, Wis. - The Rockford University women's basketball team lost a stunner 67-65 on Tuesday night to the Maranatha Baptist University Sabercats. The Regents trailed for just 1 minute and 14 seconds the entire game and led by as many as 21 points, but ultimately it was the Sabercats who made the critical plays down the stretch to come up victorious. A few deciding factors in the game were rebounding, bench scoring and free throws. The Regents were outrebounded 47-27, outscored 20-2 in bench points and shot just 59.3% (16-for-27) from the free throw line.
Things went very well for Rockford through the first three quarters of the game. Following a quick 2-0 lead for the Sabercats, the Regents ran off 13 of the next 15 points to take an early 13-4 lead. Senior Mallorie Getzelman (Byron, Ill.) and freshman Taylor May (East Moline, Ill.) combined to score 11 of the 13 points with Getzelman leading the way with six. Rockford would extend its lead to as many as 10 points in the first half when Getzelman connected on a layup with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter. However Rockford was shut out for the remainder of the half as Maranatha closed to within five points at the intermission.
The third quarter belonged to the Regents as Rockford built its lead up to as many as 21 points. Rockford quickly jumped out to a 15-point advantage as the Regents scored the first 7 points of the second half. Maranatha would cut the Regent lead back down to seven before Rockford used a 15-1 run to take what looked like an insurmountable 50-29 lead with 2:28 remaining in the quarter. Again it was the duo of Getzelman and May who led the charge with 7 and 6 points respectively. However the Sabercats once again closed the quarter strong using an 11-1 run to pull back within 11 points to start the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter got off to a good start for the Regents before things began to go south in the final few minutes. Rockford led by as many as 15 in the quarter before Maranatha started to mount its comeback. The Sabercats used a 13-0 run midway through the period to cut the Regent lead down to just 2 points at 59-57. After Maranatha tied the game at 64-64, Getzelman connected on a free throw to put her team back on top 65-64 with just 49 seconds remaining. Unfortunately just 16 seconds later Alexis Johnson made a layup to put the Sabercats out in front for the first time since the 9-minute mark in the first quarter. Unfortunately the Regents then turned the ball over their next possession allowing Maranatha to take a two-point lead with 23 seconds remaining. Rockford had one final chance to tie or win the game but could not convert and fell by a final score of 67-65.
Rockford got over 80% of its scoring from just two players. Freshman Taylor May poured in a game-high 27 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and went 14-of-18 from the free throw line. She added 9 rebounds and 2 steals to round out her stat line. Senior Mallorie Getzelman also had a great game scoring 26 points with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 block.
The RU women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, December 17 against Aurora University. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM in the Seaver Center.
