MARION, Ind. -- In what was a not great shooting night the No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team still managed to bury Marian (Ind.) University 59-42 in the Crossroads League opener in Luckey Arena.

Indiana Wesleyan did little wrong on Tuesday, other than missing shots that the Wildcats usually make. IWU shot a season-low 35.2-percent (19 of 54) from the floor and a good majority of those shots were in the paint or wide open looks.

"We missed 16 open layups," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "We were keeping track of open layups we could make and missed 16 of those. That is going to come back and haunt us if we don't correct it."

Despite the shooting woes, the Wildcats still showcased an impressive offensive display for the home crowd. IWU manufactured great scoring opportunities the entire night and took great care of the ball.

"We executed the offense," continued Brooks. "It wasn't like we turned the ball over, we turned the ball over just six times the entire game. We had the ball at the basket and we missed. If we can just correct that problem it will make a lot of things easier on us."

In fact, the six turnovers may be the lowest in program history. In the Indiana Wesleyan women's basketball archives, game-by-game box scores have been kept through the 1990 season and before tonight seven was the lowest in a game. IWU committed only one turnover in the first half.

Without turning the ball over and add a ferocious defense to the mix, Indiana Wesleyan played an excellent overall game in the league opener.

Marian was held 25 points under their season average as they shot 40.5-percent (17 of 42) from the floor and 15.4-percent (2 of 13) from 3-point range. MU turned the ball over 19 times and did not score more than 22 points in either half.

"I was really happy with our defensive effort," stated Brooks. "I felt like we played extremely hard and there were some good things that happened. We frustrated them at times. They got some stuff on us. But when you hold somebody to 42 points it's a good effort when they are averaging 60-70 points."

Sophomore forward Katrina Blackmon led the team with an all-around performance. She finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and four assists. Sophomore guard Emma Stahl added 11 points and three assists, and Claire Ray earned seven points and four assists. Junior guard Taylor Goshert chipped in seven points and a team-leading nine rebounds while sophomore guard Teneil Krebs added seven points off the bench.

"It was a chance for us to get a home win and we needed to do it," said Brooks. "We did it and hopefully we can continue to get better."

Indiana Wesleyan will take a few days off for the holiday and resume play next Wednesday, November 28. IWU travels to Grace (Ind.) College in Winona Lake, Indiana for the second Crossroads League game of the season.