MARION, Ind. -- No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball went back to what makes them successful as IWU showcased its signature defense on Saturday in a 53-33 victory over visiting Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) University in Luckey Arena.

Four of the last five games before Saturday saw Wildcat opponents score more than 50 points. That equaled the total of the first 18 games of the season.

"I was pretty pleased with our defense all day," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "They are a hard team to guard as they have really good size and length. I think they execute their stuff really well. I think we took them out of it and I was pleased with our defensive effort."

Mount Vernon Nazarene (7-16, 4-8 CL) did not crack 20 points in either half as MVNU finished at 30.6-percent (11 of 36) shooting on the day with 30 turnovers. Mount Vernon Nazarene had as many points (14) in the first half as they did turnovers (14).

Indiana Wesleyan (23-1, 11-1 CL) also struggled on the offensive end in the first half which saw them leading 19-14 at intermission. IWU shot 35.3-percent on 6-of-17 shooting in a physical first half.

"Our offensive effort was us continuing to struggle for whatever reason," continued Brooks. "Part of it was probably the way the game was played but we have to be bigger and better than that."

First half action saw a tight contest because of the lack of offense that saw the teams combine for 33 points. IWU sophomore guard Emma Stahl drilled her second 3-pointer of the half with 17 seconds left to give Indiana Wesleyan the 19-13 advantage. It was the first time all afternoon either team held a two possession lead.

The second half was much different for Indiana Wesleyan and much the same for Mount Vernon Nazarene. MVNU hit their first 3 of the day on their first possession of the half to draw within 19-17. But Indiana Wesleyan exploded for a 10-0 run to take a 29-17 lead. Mount Vernon Nazarene would end a seven and a half minute scoring drought with a free throw. After the two free throws Indiana Wesleyan scored the next nine points to lead 38-20. MVNU finally scored in the paint with 9:49 left in the game for their first basket since the 3-pointer 12 seconds into the half.

"We talked about things we needed to do differently at halftime and the kids came out and did most of those," stated Brooks. "We moved the ball better and we weren't trying to come down and make one pass and try to score off that one pass. That's not who we are. At some point they're going to learn when we move the ball then we get open shots, we may not make them, but we are getting open looks and that gives us a chance."

The Wildcats would lead by as many as 24 points when sophomore center Val Sohasky scored down low for a 50-26 lead with 5:40 to play.

Sophomore forward Katrina Blackmon led all players with 12 points. She was 2-of-5 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line. Senior guard Claire Ray was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10 points. Senior forward Paige Smith and Stahl were next with nine points apiece and Smith failed to reach double figures for just the second time all season.

Indiana Wesleyan will take to the road their next time out at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Huntington (Ind.) University.