MARION, Ind. -- No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball forced visiting Bethel (Ind.) College into 32.6-percent (14 of 43) shooting on Wednesday night in Luckey Arena as IWU earned a 53-47 victory in Mid-Central College Conference action.

Bethel committed 17 turnovers and shot a dismal 30.4-percent (7 of 23) in the opening 20 minutes. The Pilots were limited to a season low five assists and did not garner a single point from the bench.

Indiana Wesleyan junior guard Kayla Thompson reached a career milestone in the second half. Her 3-point bucket at 15:55 was her eighth point on the evening and the 1,000th point of her collegiate career. Thompson finished with 11 points on the night with three 3-pointers.

Early in the first half Indiana Wesleyan charged to an 11-2 run to create a 14-7 advantage. Bethel responded with a 9-2 run to tie the score at 16-16 with 5:47 before halftime.

Bethel junior forward Bekah Basinger drilled a 3-point shot with 3:00 before the break to tie the score at 21-21. But Indiana Wesleyan did not allow another Bethel point before the half as IWU scored the last five points for a 26-21 lead.

A 10-3 Wildcat run to open the second half increased the IWU lead to a game-high 12 points at 36-24 and 14:32 left to play.

Bethel (16-8, 5-5 MCC) stepped up the full court press and clamped down on Indiana Wesleyan over the next seven minutes. Bethel scored 10 unanswered points to bring the deficit to a single possession at 36-34 and 7:38 on the clock.

Indiana Wesleyan (20-4, 9-1 MCC) continued to hold a slim advantage of 45-42 with 3:39 in the game when IWU junior forward Elaine Hessel scored in the paint and Thompson hit a basket from long range on the next possession to quickly up the lead to 50-42 and 2:21 remaining.

The Pilots clawed back to within three points (50-47) with just over one minute to play. But Hessel connected on a field goal for a five point Wildcat lead. The next Pilot possession was a turnover with 30 seconds to play and IWU junior forward LeAnn Douglas hit one free throw to complete the scoring.

Bethel junior forward Heather Seyfred led all players with 15 points.

Hessel led Indiana Wesleyan at 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Thompson added four boards and three assists to go with her 11 points. Douglas ended the evening with nine points and seven rebounds while sophomore guard Rachel Steinbarger contributed eight points and four steals.

Indiana Wesleyan shot 41.3-percent (19 of 46) from the floor and 36.4-percent (8 of 22) from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats will play their next contest next Wednesday, February 3 at Huntington (Ind.) University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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