INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- In their first overtime game of the season No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball survived in a 69-59 victory at Marian (Ind.) University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Marian (13-8, 3-7 CL) used a furious rally late to force the overtime session. Indiana Wesleyan went on an 8-0 run to build a 10 point lead at 52-42 with 6:40 remaining. But Marian went to the 3-point line to quickly turn around the momentum of the game. Marian hit three 3-pointers to fuel an 11-0 run to claim a 53-52 advantage with 3:41 left.

After both teams had empty possessions, sophomore guard Teneil Krebs drilled a 3-pointer to put Indiana Wesleyan back on top 55-53. Marian answered with a basket in the paint to tie the game 55-55 and 2:05 remaining.

The Wildcats went down low to senior forward Paige Smith to put IWU in the lead 57-55. The Knights tied the game 57-57 with 34 seconds to play. The Wildcats failed to score on their last possession and a last second heave by the Knights was off target to send the game into overtime.

Indiana Wesleyan (21-1, 9-1 CL) dominated the extra session starting with the opening possession. Junior guard Taylor Goshert scored on a second chance field goal to put Indiana Wesleyan in the lead 33 seconds into overtime. IWU would not trail again.

The Wildcats scored the first eight points in OT to pull ahead 65-57 and 1:29 left to play. The Knights scored their only two points in the period on a pair of free throws with 1:16 to play. IWU hit their final four free throw attempts to close the scoring at 69-59.

Up until Indiana Wesleyan captured the 10 point advantage late in the game, neither team had led by more than five points. There were 11 ties and 11 lead changes in the game.

Indiana Wesleyan took advantage of Marian's aggressive play with 37 free throw attempts to just 11 for the hosts. IWU connected on a 78.4-percent clip which was a big factor as they shot just 32.8-percent (19 of 58) from the field.

Smith led the Wildcats in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Goshert nearly pulled down a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds and she was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. Senior guard Claire Ray added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals while sophomore guard Emma Stahl chipped in 10 points and four assists.

Indiana Wesleyan returns home for a pair of games next week in Luckey Arena. The first of those comes on Wednesday at 7 p.m. versus Grace (Ind.) College.