HUNTINGTON, Ind. -- Trailing by as many as nine points in the second half the No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team came all the way back to claim a 56-54 victory at Huntington (Ind.) University tonight.

"We persevered," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. "We hung in there and won an ugly game. We had enough courage and guts to pull one out and we competed and didn't quit. We didn't hang our heads. We were just fortunate to win the game tonight."

Junior guard Taylor Goshert hit one of two free throws with 55 seconds left to put the Wildcats in the lead for good. Following a missed Forester shot, HU was forced to foul and sent senior guard Claire Ray to the line who hit one of her two free throws for a 56-54 advantage with 22 seconds remaining.

Huntington (14-10, 6-7 CL) had a final opportunity to tie or take the lead. Pazia Speed attempted the first field goal for Huntington that was off line with 10 seconds remaining. Sarah Miller-Jennings -- who led Huntington with 19 points -- had two more attempts down low but missed on both. The ball was loose on the floor and a scrum ensued. Before anyone was able to take possession of the ball the buzzer sounded the end of the game.

"I'm thankful we got the win," added Brooks. "We got a win on the road and I will take that."

Indiana Wesleyan (24-1, 12-1 CL) finished the game on a 10-3 run. Huntington had led 51-45 with six minutes remaining but managed just one field goal and one free throw the rest of the way.

The Wildcats scored the first six points of the night before the Foresters responded with the next 10 points for the 10-6 lead. The Foresters would not relinquish that advantage until a 3-point basket by Goshert put IWU ahead 54-53 with 1:46 on the clock.

Indiana Wesleyan struggled most of the night on the offensive end, but a late surge allowed IWU to overcome a nine point deficit. Huntington had the game's largest lead of 41-32 and 14 minutes left in the game. From that point Indiana Wesleyan outscored Huntington 24-13.

"We weren't very good tonight," said Brooks. "We were dysfunctional again on the offensive end. This late in the season you should know what you can and cannot do out there."

The Wildcats managed to shoot 43.1-percent (22 of 51) from the floor and struggled at the foul line finishing at 60.0-percent (9 of 15), including just 2-of-5 in the final five minutes. The Foresters shot a nearly identical 43.5-percent (20 of 46) from the field.

Goshert and senior forward Paige Smith led Indiana Wesleyan with 13 points apiece. Sophomore forward Katrina Blackmon added 10 points while sophomore guard Emma Stahl and Ray each contributed eight points apiece. Goshert led the team with seven rebounds while Ray and Blackmon each had five.

Indiana Wesleyan returns home this weekend with a game against Spring Arbor (Mich.) University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday in Luckey Arena.