MARION, Ind. -- A defensive struggled ensnared Luckey Arena Wednesday night as No. 18-ranked Marian (Ind.) University outslugged No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University 61-53 on Senior Night for the women's basketball team.

Marian (20-6, 11-4 MCC) shot 39.6-percent (19 of 48) from the field in the victory while Indiana Wesleyan was limited to just 31.9-percent (15 of 47) in the loss. It was the lowest shooting percentage for Indiana Wesleyan since the first game of the season.

The contest saw 45 foul calls combined with the teams shooting a total of 59 free throw attempts. The Wildcats finished at 64.5-percent (20 of 31) while the Knights shot 75.0-percent (21 of 28) from the charity stripe. IWU attempted 19 free throws in the opening half while MU shot 23 in the second stanza.

Indiana Wesleyan (23-5, 12-3 MCC) led nearly the entire first half. IWU senior forward LeAnn Douglas connected on an old-fashion 3-point play just over two minutes in to give Indiana Wesleyan a 3-2 lead. Indiana Wesleyan held that lead until 12:13 remained in the game when Marian junior forward Rachel Kenney scored down low.

The Wildcats led by as many as nine points in the opening half when sophomore guard Taylor Goshert hit a pair of free throws for an 18-9 advantage. IWU led by five with less than half a minute before halftime but Marian scored, made a defensive stop late, and hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer which brought Marian into a 25-25 tie at the break.

Defense continued to reign during the first 10 minutes of the second half as Indiana Wesleyan led 34-32 at the midway point of the half. But Marian was able to turn it up another notch offensively down the stretch, scoring 29 points in the final 10 minutes of play.

With Indiana Wesleyan holding a 37-33 lead, Marian would keep Indiana Wesleyan off the scoreboard for more than five minutes to fuel a 12-0 run. Kenney completed the Marian spurt with a field goal down low for a 45-37 lead with 5:10 left in the game.

Indiana Wesleyan would close to within four points over the final five minutes on three different occasions, but Marian continually hit a big field goal or got to the foul line to keep Indiana Wesleyan at bay. Marian drained 9-of-10 free throws in the final minute of the game.

Wildcats senior forward Elaine Hessel led all players with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Goshert finished with 10 points and five rebounds while Douglas added eight points and six rebounds. Senior guard Kayla Thompson contributed six points, five boards, three assists and three steals.

Four Wildcat seniors were honored postgame as they played in their final regular season home game in Luckey Arena. Coach Steve Brooks spoke about all four and the impact they have left on the team. The four seniors were LeAnn Douglas, Elaine Hessel, Jessica Teegarden and Kayla Thompson.

Despite the loss, Indiana Wesleyan remains tied with No. 5-ranked University of Saint Francis (Ind.) for the Mid-Central College Conference lead with identical 12-3 records. Saint Francis also lost tonight by a 78-71 margin at Grace (Ind.) College.

Indiana Wesleyan can clinch at least a share of the MCC title in the regular season finale at Grace. The game is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 19 in Winona Lake, Indiana.