MARION, Ind. -- Another stout defensive effort on Friday evening paved the way for the No. 7-ranked and top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team into the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament championship game.

Huntington (Ind.) University had no answer as Indiana Wesleyan won the semifinal showdown 59-43 to advance to the conference title game for the first time since 2008.

"I'm proud of how we hung in there," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "On the defensive side, we held a team averaging around 70 points the past few games to 43. We battled hard and gave our self a chance."

No. 4-seed Huntington (19-11) has averaged 69 points per game during their five-game win streak. HU had scored at least 61 points in each of those games since its last loss, a 61-41 defeat at Indiana Wesleyan on February 5.

Indiana Wesleyan (26-5) pressured Huntington into 16 turnovers and only five assists in the semifinal contest. Huntington shot 31.1-percent (14 of 45) from the floor and 21.4-percent (3 of 14) from 3-point range.

"We gave our self a chance with defense, especially in the first half," Brooks continued. "It's an old clich?, but defense wins championships and it's given us a chance on Monday."

The first half was the epitome of a defensive struggle as both teams came up empty on the offensive end a lot.

At first, Indiana Wesleyan looked to put Huntington away real quick with a 14-4 to open the first seven minutes of the game. But IWU would not score again for seven minutes leading to an 11-0 Huntington run that resulted in HU's first lead of the game at 15-14.

Wildcat junior center Krystal Stoneking finally put the ball in the basket with 5:43 before halftime to stop the drought and regain the lead for IWU at 16-15. The 24 second lead for the Foresters would be all they had the rest of the night.

Despite scoring six points in the final 12:53 of the first half, Indiana Wesleyan managed to lead 20-18 at the intermission as neither team shot better than 30-percent from the field.

The Wildcats led 30-27 seven minutes into the second half before Stoneking connected on an old fashion 3-point play and 28 seconds later junior guard Stephanie Burtch drilled one of her four second half 3-pointers to suddenly give IWU a 36-27 advantage.

Huntington trimmed the deficit back to six points with three free throws over their next two possessions.

Indiana Wesleyan quickly responded on a 9-0 run that ultimately sealed the fate for Huntington. IWU scored on four straight possessions and Burtch hit her second 3-pointer of the half to cap the run just passed the midway point for a commanding 45-30 lead.

The Foresters never recovered and the Wildcats did not let the double digit lead vanquish the rest of the night. The Foresters did cut the lead down to 49-39 with 5:36 on the clock, but Burtch followed with 3-point buckets on back-to-back possessions to erase any doubt for a 55-39 lead.

Stoneking led all players with 16 points and was 5-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. She pulled down five boards, had two steals and blocked a shot.

"Krystal doesn't start for us but when she comes in we expect her to make a difference," said Brooks. "Tonight she made a big difference."

Burtch finished with 14 points, 12 in the second half, while senior forward Elaine Hessel added 13 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Kayla Thompson contributed a game-high seven rebounds and eight assists.

"Tonight was a fun environment," said Brooks about the loud and well attended semifinal contest inside Luckey. "Hopefully we will have it again on Monday."

The Wildcats will now play in the MCC Tournament Championship at 7 p.m. on Monday versus No. 2-seed and No. 8-ranked University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in Luckey Arena. The winner of the game will earn the MCC's automatic bid to the NAIA DII National Championship Tournament on March 9-15 in Sioux City, Iowa.

"I expect us to come out on Monday and compete," stated Brooks. "That's all I can ask them to do and we will be on our home floor."

IWU last played in the conference tournament championship game in 2008 where Indiana Wesleyan lost 50-45 at Bethel (Ind.) College. The MCC Tournament final was last played in Marion in 2007 when Indiana Wesleyan defeated Saint Francis en route to the NAIA DII National Championship.

All Indiana Wesleyan students who attend the game will have their $2.00 ticket paid for by the Indiana Welseyan athletic department. Come out Monday night and support the Wildcats!