INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball overcame a 14 point deficit in the second half to stun host Marian (Ind.) University 57-53 on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Marian raced out to a 9-2 spurt to begin the second half to increase their 25-18 halftime lead to 14 points at 34-20.

But the Wildcats would methodically chip away at the Knights over the final 17 minutes of the game. Senior guard Kayla Thompson and junior guard Ashley Brooks scored the next five points in the game to trim the score to 36-27 and bring the deficit to single digits. The Knights never regained a double digit lead the rest of the afternoon.

Indiana Wesleyan continued to close the gap and trailed by just five at 37-32 with 12:44 remaining. Marian countered with four straight points to push their advantage back to nine before another Indiana Wesleyan counterattack of five straight points closed the score to four at 41-37 near the midway point of the half.

Trailing by six at 45-39, Indiana Wesleyan reeled off seven straight points to capture a 46-45 lead with 4:16 left to play. Spurring the run was senior forward Elaine Hessel with six of the seven points.

After trading baskets, sophomore forward Paige Smith hit two free throws as IWU led 50-47. That lead was short lived as Marian hit a 3-pointer on their next possession to tie the game with two minutes to play.

Brooks continued her stellar play at Marian with a jumper 20 seconds later to give the Wildcats a 52-50 lead. Marian answered with a 3-pointer on the very next possession to regain a 53-52 advantage.

Once again, Brooks tied the score with exactly one minute remaining on a free throw. She missed her second but Smith pulled down the offensive board to give Indiana Wesleyan the ball back. Brooks made Marian pay with a field goal in the paint to give IWU the 55-53 lead with 23 seconds on the clock.

Her score held up as the winner as Indiana Wesleyan forced a Marian turnover with nine seconds to go. Marian instantly fouled Hessel who iced the victory with two free throws for the 57-53 win.

Hessel completed the game with a team-high 18 points and was 8-of-10 from the foul line. Brooks was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 13. She finished 5-of-7 from the field and had three rebounds and two assists.

The Wildcats improve to 17-3 this season and remained tied for first place in the Mid-Central College Conference with a 6-1 mark. The Knights drop to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in conference action.

Indiana Wesleyan will return home for their next game on Wednesday, January 19 versus Grace (Ind.) College. Tip-off will be at a special time of 5 p.m.