FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Junior guard Kayla Thompson poured in 20 points as the No. 8-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team remained perfect in the Mid-Central College Conference with a 57-54 win at No. 23 University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Thompson drilled 5-of-6 from beyond the arc to tie for game-high honors with Saint Francis junior forward Julie Seiss. She also pulled down four rebounds.

Indiana Wesleyan opened the game frigid as Saint Francis jumped out to an 8-0 lead. IWU sophomore center Krystal Stoneking drained a pair of free throws for the first Indiana Wesleyan points with 14:26 in the opening half. Stoneking finished the game with 10 points.

Midway through the half Stoneking hit a field for the Wildcats first lead of the game at 10-9. Indiana Wesleyan built a lead of seven points at 27-20 before settling for a 27-22 halftime advantage.

IWU senior forward Lindsay Waggoner hit an old fashioned three-point play with 15:25 left in the second half to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 33-24. IWU extended the lead to double digits for the first time when sophomore guard Stephanie Burtch drained a 3-point bucket for a 49-39 lead with 7:18 to play. Burtch contributed 10 points in the victory.

Saint Francis clawed back and cut the deficit to a single possession with 3:10 to play as IWU led 53-50. On their next possession, USF hit a field to bring it to 53-52.

Indiana Wesleyan never surrendered the lead although it never reached greater than three the rest of the way.

The Cougars controlled the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining and trailed 57-54. But USF never had a chance to tie the game as a turnover with four seconds iced the victory for the Wildcats.

Indiana Wesleyan improves to 5-0 in the MCC and 16-3 overall. Saint Francis drops to 3-2 in the conference and 9-9 for the season.

The Wildcats return to the court at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12 as Indiana Wesleyan hosts Marian (Ind.) University in Luckey Arena.