FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – The Marian University women's basketball team erased a double digit deficit late in the second half, but visiting Benedictine University provided an answer and was able to escape Sadoff Gymnasium with a 74-60 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory, this afternoon, Jan. 4.

Amelia Mirsberger led the Sabres with 17 points and aided a second half comeback that dug her team out of a 12-point hole, but the Eagles made big plays down the stretch and were able to finish the game on a 25-11 run over the final 6:34. Benedictine's Meghan Novak scored the final 12 points for her team, including eight straight free throws in the final 94 seconds.

"For starting out as slow as we did and shooting the ball as poorly as we did, our girls battled for nearly the entire game," Head Coach Bill Peters said. "After tying the game at 49-49, I felt our urgency settled, they hit some big shots, and it got away from us."

Marian shot just 31 percent in the contest, including 7-for-30 (23.3 percent) in the first half alone. Meanwhile, Benedictine converted 54 percent (27-for-50) of their field goal attempts.

The Eagles improved to 5-7 overall, 5-2 in the NACC, while the Sabres dropped to 3-8 (3-3 NACC).

Marian kept itself in the game with their ability to take care of the basketball, committing just nine turnovers, which was two shy off its season-high of seven in a win over Dominican earlier this year.

"I was pleased with how well we took care of the ball, but the last three turnovers were by our trusted ball handlers down the stretch, which you can't let happen. We battled to get back in it after being down, but the lack of urgency at the end was the most disappointing."

Coming out of halftime trailing 32-21, the Sabres were able to cut the deficit to five points, 37-32, following a Mirsberger three at the 15:14 mark. Benedictine continued to see their lead dwindle after a Sarah Olewinski layup made it 41-39 three-and-a-half minutes later.

Olewinski finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 1-for-4 from downtown to go along with three assists.

Down by four nearing the seven-minute mark, Emma Jarvey got into the fray with a pair of jumpers, the latter showing her range with an 18-footer from the wing to tie the game at 49-49. Jarvey finished with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

So, after battling all game, Marian was finally able to draw even and forced the visiting Eagles to take a timeout. Novak helped her team respond with a resounding three-pointer to give the Eagles back the lead, one in which they would not relinquish.

Novak scored 15 points in the second half alone and sparked the run that made the difference. The Eagles held a 44-28 rebounding advantage, but both squads finished with 10 offensive rebounds apiece, which Marian was able to convert into a 20-6 advantage in second-chance points.

"I'm not so worried about getting outrebounded as much because we missed 30 shots," Peters said. "We had more second-chance points and more points off turnovers (13-10). They shot it well, we didn't. At the end, we fell asleep a little bit and didn't close out on their shooters and they knocked down some big shots."

Peters and the Sabres will have several chances to rebound this week, but it won't be easy. Marian travels to Alverno (8-5, 5-3 NACC) Tuesday, Jan. 7, and Wisconsin Lutheran (7-3, 5-1 NACC) Thursday, Jan. 9, for a pair of midweek games before returning home to face Rockford (5-7, 2-5 NACC) next Saturday.