MARION, Ind. -- A spectacular performance from the free throw line led the No. 9-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team to a 73-52 victory over No. 24-ranked Marian (Ind.) University on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indiana Wesleyan hit on 33-of-36 free throw attempts for a 91.7-percent day. Marian only earned 19 trips to the foul line and hit on 13 (68.4-percent).

The win is the second in a critical week for the Wildcats. IWU also defeated No. 11-ranked University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on Wednesday in a battle for first place in the Mid-Central College Conference.

Junior forward Elaine Hessel led the Wildcats once again and she did it from the free throw line. Hessel scored a game-high 26 points and finished 16-of-18 from the line. She also pulled down five rebounds and passed out three assists.

The Wildcats never trailed in the game following six straight points to open the contest. With 7:01 left in the first half though, the Knights had closed to within two points at 22-20.

Indiana Wesleyan would not let Marian (16-12, 7-7 MCC) back into the game and outscored the host 14-1 to close out the half at 36-21.

IWU led between 12 points and 18 points during the entire second half until the final second of the game. A personal foul coupled with a technical foul allowed Hessel to hit four free throws and increase the Wildcat lead to its peak for the game at 21 (73-52).

The Wildcats (23-5, 12-2 MCC) got a huge lift off the bench as sophomore guard Stephanie Burtch scored 16 points.

Sophomore guard Rachel Steinbarger added 10 points in the victory and junior guard Kayla Thompson added nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Indiana Wesleyan held a 36-to-26 advantage on the boards and forced Marian into 19 turnovers.

With the victory, the Wildcats hold onto their first place lead in the MCC with two games left to play. IWU closes the regular season with a pair of home games next week in Luckey Arena. IWU hosts Grace (Ind.) College on Wednesday, February 17 at 7 p.m. and Taylor (Ind.) University on Saturday, February 20 at 1 p.m.