MARION, Ind. -- The final day of the First Annual Leah Whittaker Memorial Tournament was a special time for the Indiana Wesleyan University players, coaches, alum, and friends and family of the Whittaker's.

Indiana Wesleyan defeated University of Rio Grande (Ohio) 64-41 in the tournament finale to improve to 12-0. Senior forward Paige Smith, Leah's roommate at Indiana Wesleyan, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

"It is really special," said Smith. "It's special to have the opportunity to have the tournament for Leah and to have her family here. It's great that our team could come out and win both games. It's very special to me."

Prior to the game a video was shown to in Luckey Arena. It highlighted the impact that Leah had at Indiana Wesleyan and the people she came into contact with. She did on August 16, 2011 following an eight month battle with stage IV colon cancer.

"I was concerned for Paige because it is a special relationship between her and the Whittaker's and Leah," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "And Leah made all the difference in Paige's life. So I was a little concerned about her. But at the same time I felt we needed to do that because this tournament has a different significance and we wanted people to understand who Leah was and I think that video kind of gave a true indication of who she was."

Proceeds from the weekend tournament will go to future Indiana Wesleyan women's basketball mission trips. Leah was a Sports Ministry major with a passion to mix sports and missions.

Joining Smith on the All-Tournament Team was Indiana Wesleyan sophomore forward Katrina Blackmon, Rochester junior forward Meagan Heiden, Rio Grande senior guard Shardai Morrison-Fountain, and Taylor junior guard Kelsey Bryant.

On the floor, Indiana Wesleyan built an early 11-2 lead just five minutes in. But Rio Grande cut the deficit to three at 16-13 on a Morrison-Fountain basket with 6:33 remaining. That field would be the last for Rio Grande the rest of the half. Indiana Wesleyan completed the opening period on a 12-2 run to take a 28-15 lead into halftime.

Despite the 13 point lead, Indiana Wesleyan struggled to just 33.3-percent (9 of 27) shooting with eight turnovers.

In the second half the Wildcats continued to increase their lead. It reached 20 points (42-22) with 15:53 to play on a Smith bucket in the paint. A 13-2 run that started at the midway point of the half pushed the IWU lead to its highest of the afternoon at 62-33.

"We came in and talked about what we could do better at halftime," stated Smith. "Then we went in and implemented those changes and started hitting our shots on offense. And that helped us increase the lead."

Smith finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. She ended the tournament with averages of 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.

Junior guard Taylor Goshert contributed 13 points and seven rebounds, senior guard Claire Ray added 11 points and four assists, while Blackmon totaled eight points, six boards, and four assists. Sophomore guard Teneil Krebs came off the bench and tallied seven points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Indiana Wesleyan will next play on Saturday, December 15 on the road. IWU travels to Palos Heights, Illinois for a contest with Trinity Christian (Ill.) College at 1 p.m.