MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- A battle of top-25 women's basketball teams was on tap Wednesday evening with Bethel (Ind.) College winning 70-60 over Indiana Wesleyan University in Mishawaka, Indiana.

The critical Mid-Central College Conference contest featured the No. 16-ranked Wildcats and No. 22-ranked Pilots with the teams tied for second in the MCC with 6-3 records. With the victory Bethel moves to within half a game of front runner Huntington (Ind.) University as Indiana Wesleyan falls into a third place tie with Taylor (Ind.) University.

IWU sophomore guard Kayla Thompson ignited the Wildcats to an early 11-4 lead with three 3-point baskets in the first five minutes of play. Thompson finished the night with 17 points and 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Bethel (15-7, 7-3 MCC) responded with an 11-2 spurt over the next five minutes to earn their first lead of the game at 15-13 midway through the half. But the next five minutes belonged to Indiana Wesleyan which ran off 10 of the next 12 points for a 23-17 advantage.

Following a Bethel basket and a pair of free throws for IWU, the Pilots ended the last five minutes of the opening frame with a 10-2 run of their own for a 29-27 halftime lead.

Indiana Wesleyan (17-7, 6-4 MCC) was unable to stop Bethel in the opening minutes of the second half as Bethel exploded for a 13-2 run to extend their lead to 42-29 with 13:48 left in the game. Bethel reached their largest advantage of the night at 14 points with a 49-35 lead as 8:14 remained.

With 5:30 on the clock the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to 49-42 with a field goal by sophomore forward Elaine Hessel. She scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Indiana Wesleyan could get no closer until Thompson connected on another 3-pointer with 42 seconds left for a 62-56 Bethel lead. The Pilots would connect on their next six free throw attempts to secure the 10 point victory.

Bethel was led by Amber Peters with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Indiana Wesleyan will next play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4 as the Wildcats host No. 12-ranked Huntington (Ind.) University in Luckey Arena.