MARION, Ind. -- Many of the current members of the Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team have played in big games, including last season's NAIA Division II National Semifinal in Sioux City, Iowa.

But tonight's 57-49 victory over University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Championship brought a completely new array of emotions for the Wildcats. That's because their teammate, freshman center Leah Whittaker, was the first person up the ladder to cut down the net.

"At the beginning of the tournament our goal was to see #30 cut down that net," said Indiana Wesleyan senior forward Elaine Hessel. Senior guard Kayla Thompson added, "That's what drove us. We wanted to do this for Leah."

Leah discovered she had stage four cancer on her colon and liver in early December. She has been battling the cancer from home and is receiving positive test results.

"We wanted Leah to be here for the championship and wanted her to climb the ladder and cut down the net," said Wildcat head coach Steve Brooks. "I don't think it gets any better than that."

Following the presentation of the MCC Tournament championship plaque to the Wildcats, it was time to cut down the nets in front of the home crowd. The first person up was Leah.

"This means so much to me," said Whittaker. "I couldn't ask for a better team."

To get Leah up on the ladder, Indiana Wesleyan had to do something it did not accomplish in two attempts during the regular season?defeat No. 8-ranked Saint Francis.

And things looked very bleak early in the game for the No. 7-ranked Wildcats after jumping out to a quick 6-2 lead. The next 10 minutes of the game was completely dominated by the Cougars.

Saint Francis (25-8) limited Indiana Wesleyan to just two baskets during the stretch as USF turned a 17-5 run into a 19-11 lead on the scoreboard with 6:21 left in the opening half. But Indiana Wesleyan never let Saint Francis build a double digit lead and even had a chance to cut the deficit to four before half. But an Indiana Wesleyan turnover led to a 26-20 Saint Francis halftime lead.

Wildcat senior forward LeAnn Douglas contributed her best game of the season tonight. She was a driving force for the Wildcats on the offensive end and finished with a team-high nine points in the opening stanza, nearly half the IWU points in the half.

"LeAnn kept us in the game, especially in the first half," stated Brooks. "She made good defensive steps and then she just continued to attack the basket. She is a senior who played a big game tonight."

The start of the second half would turn out to be a small sample size of what Indiana Wesleyan would bring for the entire second half.

The Indiana Wesleyan defense played at an even higher level in the first six possessions of the half and the IWU offense hit its stride. Indiana Wesleyan kept Saint Francis off the scoreboard for the first 4:45 of the period and quickly turned a six point halftime deficit into a 29-26 advantage.

"It was all about getting stops," Thompson said. "Coach told us to make some more stops at halftime and that's what we did."

"We made six defensive stops to open the second half," continued Brooks. "And when we ran the offense they had to defend all those cuts."

The offense did a complete turn after halftime after scoring just 20 points in the first half. Indiana Wesleyan tacked on 13 points in less than six minutes to start the second half. And once Indiana Wesleyan captured the lead, it did not let it go.

Hessel scored in the paint off a great pass from Douglas to push the Wildcat advantage to 37-32 with 9:56 remaining. It was the largest lead for IWU at that point. But Saint Francis quickly countered with buckets by senior guard Julie Seiss and junior guard Kayla Mullins to make it a one point contest at 37-36.

Indiana Wesleyan (27-5) received a huge basket from another senior, Kayla Thompson, when she hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired for a 40-36 lead. Two possessions later, junior center Krystal Stoneking scored and she followed that with two free throws the next time down the floor as IWU suddenly held a 44-36 lead with less than five minutes to play.

Saint Francis did not buckle and responded with a 9-1 run to close the gap to 45-44 as 2:25 remained.

Indiana Wesleyan went right back to Stoneking who scored in the paint for a 47-44 lead. Following a Saint Francis turnover, Stoneking was fouled with 1:07 remaining. She connected on both free throws for a 49-44 lead.

Seiss took a shot quickly on the other end that was off target and IWU junior guard Stephanie Burtch pulled down the rebound. Saint Francis was forced to foul.

The Wildcats responded with eight free throws in 10 attempts during the final minute. The lead grew to as large as 10 (57-47) before capturing the championship by a 57-49 margin.

The MCC Tournament championship is the first for Indiana Wesleyan since the 2006-07 team defeated Saint Francis en route to the NAIA Division II National Championship.

"It was a lot of hard work to get back here," stated Thompson. "But we got it done when it counted most and it's a great feeling."

Following a first half which witnessed only 20 points for Indiana Wesleyan on 31.8-percent (7 of 22) shooting, IWU reversed course with 37 second half points on 47.6-percent (10 of 21) shooting.

"We played well defensively in the first half but were stagnant on the offensive end," said Brooks. "In the second half we knew we needed more movement. We did that and it gave us a chance. We found some lanes and make some shots."

Indiana Wesleyan won the battle on the boards 34-23 and got to the free throw line four times as much as Saint Francis (24 to 6).

Douglas finished with a game-high and season-best 16 points in her final game in Luckey Arena. She was 5-of-7 from the field and dished out a game-high four assists. Junior guard Ashley Brooks added 11 points and five rebounds while Stoneking contributed 10 points, all coming in the second half. Thompson had seven points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Saint Francis' leading scorers during the season, Seiss and Mullins, who average nearly 33 points between the two, finished with 22 on Monday. They were held to a combined 34.8-percent shooting night as they were 8-of-23 from the floor.

Luckey Arena, which hosted its first MCC women's championship game since 2007, was jam packed and loud as the Wildcats sent the best crowd of the season home happy. The Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball team was front and center tonight with their bodies painted white in support of the ?White Out' game.

"We were thrilled with the fan support tonight," Brooks stated. "They were great and we are very appreciative. And what can you say about the men's team? We'll have to return the favor tomorrow night."

The women earn the MCC's automatic berth to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa on March 9-15. Indiana Wesleyan will learn its seed and first round opponent on Wednesday night.

Luckey Arena will host one final game this season as the Indiana Wesleyan men look to repeat on the performance of the women in the MCC Tournament Championship Game. The ?Black Out' game will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Saint Francis.

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