MARION, Ind. -- It took a 14-4 run to close out the game and No. 4-seed University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on Friday night as top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball won 53-50 to advance to its second straight Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Championship game.

"I'm really proud of them," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "We didn't play a stellar game. We were horrible from the free throw line, some real lapses, but honestly I am proud of this win for the way we did it. We gutted it out at the end."

Junior forward Paige Smith added, "This team is incredible at coming together through hard things. We're extremely resilient and not just on the court but off the court too. I think our chemistry and resiliency is what makes us such a good team. It's what allows us to go on 14-4 runs to end a game."

Tonight was not the first night Indiana Wesleyan was able to use a late run to fend off an opponent or overcome a late deficit. Indiana Wesleyan limited Saint Francis to just six points over the final 8:21.

"We practice to be able to do it," stated Brooks. "We didn't give them anything easy. We went back to our basics again and try to fight our butts off and defend everything and not let them just stand and shoot or penetrate."

Indiana Wesleyan (30-2) trailed 46-39 when junior forward Paige Smith scored on a second chance basket in the paint to start the 14-4 run with 5:40 left on the clock. Smith grabbed one of her six offensive rebounds in the game on a missed free throw to keep the possession alive.

Saint Francis (19-13) led 48-44 on a Jenelle Wilson basket at 3:49. On the ensuing Indiana Wesleyan possession Smith was fouled and she hit one of her two free throws. Saint Francis brought the ball down the court but freshman guard Emma Stahl created a turnover and was fouled. The freshman hit both free throws to bring IWU to within one at 48-47.

But the Cougars hustled down the court and Wilson scored another layup for a 50-47 advantage with 2:29 remaining. It would be the finals points of the night for the Cougars.

The next IWU possession turned out to be a key one in the game. Junior guard Claire Freeman was fouled and hit the first free throw. She missed the second but Smith again grabbed an offensive board to retain possession for Indiana Wesleyan. Senior guard Stephanie Burtch then hit a driving shot to tie the score for the 10th time of the evening at 50-50 and 1:40 remaining.

Saint Francis had a chance to reclaim the lead but Smith stole the ball and was later fouled with 1:03 on the clock. She hit one of the two freebies for the first Indiana Wesleyan lead since 19:44 on the second half clock.

An errant pass for Saint Francis gave Indiana Wesleyan the ball with 43 seconds remaining. Saint Francis did not foul as Indiana Wesleyan brought the shot clock to the very end. Freeman put up a runner in the lane that hit nothing but the top of the back iron but the lucky roll fell forward and through the hoop for a 53-50 lead and 14 seconds left. It was Freeman's only field goal of the night.

"The clock was running down and we needed to get the shot off," said Freeman. "So I just tried to take it to the basket and throw it up. It went in and I'll take it. If I had to hit one I guess that's the best one to hit."

Saint Francis moved the ball to half court and called time out with 8.6 seconds remaining. Indiana Wesleyan used their foul to give to leave 6.0 seconds on the clock. USF guard Kayla Mullins took the final 3-point attempt but delivered an air ball as Indiana Wesleyan takes the win and the spot in the conference finals.

"We pride ourselves on defense," said Freeman. "That's what was needed to happen and we hadn't necessarily done that all game. We pulled together at the end and got the stops needed."

Although not the prettiest win of the season, Brooks knows the effort his players put forth on Friday.

"What can you say about Paige Smith coming in there and battling her tail off on the boards and coming up with lose balls, diving around and doing what she had to do. Emma Stahl comes in there and makes a couple key steals defensively and goes to the free throw line and knocks down two free throws. Steph Burtch steps up and hits a big shot from the perimeter and then goes in and nails a nice drive."

"It was a great effort on the part of our kids. They didn't quit, they didn't knuckle under, and gave themselves a chance to win a game that maybe we shouldn't have won. But I'm really proud of the mental toughness and grit that they showed."

Smith finished with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Stephanie Burtch led the team with 13 points and three assists. Senior center Krystal Stoneking added 11 points and senior guard Ashley Brooks contributed seven points and six boards.

One of the low points of the night was surprisingly the free throw shooting from the Wildcats. IWU hit just 45.8-percent from the line on 11-of-24 shooting.

"We're going to work on that," stated Freeman. "It's something that's going to win basketball games. We pulled it out tonight but in the future it's not going to work for us."

Indiana Wesleyan swept Saint Francis in the three-game series. It is the first time Indiana Wesleyan has beat Saint Francis three times in a season since the 2006-07 season. The win is also the 30th win of the season and it's only the third time in program history the team has reached the 30-win plateau. Indiana Wesleyan was 33-3 in 2004-05 and then 38-0 in 2006-07.

Indiana Wesleyan will host the MCC Tournament Championship at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 27 in Luckey Arena. IWU will host No. 2-seed and No. 18-ranked Bethel (Ind.) College. Bethel defeated Huntington (Ind.) University 60-47 tonight in the other MCC Semifinal.