MARION, Ind. -- Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball defeated Georgetown (Ky.) 62-49 in Luckey Arena in a matchup between two highly ranked NAIA programs.

Indiana Wesleyan is ranked No. 1 in NAIA Division II while Georgetown is No. 4 in NAIA Division I. Both teams entered play on Tuesday with unblemished records. The win keeps Indiana Wesleyan perfect for a long time in non-conference home games. The last non-conference loss in Luckey Arena came on December 8, 2000 in a 67-45 loss to John Brown (Ark.).

“I thought this team took a big step forward tonight,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. “Now we will see if it lasts. This won’t mean anything if we come out and play soft on Friday. But I really believe we took a step forward tonight and now the question is if we can be consistent with it.”

The Wildcats have not been tested this season with three easy victories to start the season. After losing two key players from last season’s national championship team, many questions were answered tonight in a victory over an explosive Tiger opponent. The Tigers entered play with an average of 83.0 points per game in wins over No. 10 Ozarks (Mo.) and Taylor (Ind.).

“We wanted to hold them to a low score because they are a great offensive team,” said junior forward Katrina Blackmon. “Taylor Goshert told us one of our goals was to keep them under 50 and we ended up doing that. We had high energy and everyone was communicating so it was just a big team effort.”

Blackmon played a huge role in the victory tonight as she tied a career-high with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. She scored 15 of those points in the first half to help keep the Wildcats in the lead 34-29 at the break.

Indiana Wesleyan held the lead at intermission despite a horrendous performance at the foul line, shooting 5-of-15 (33.3 percent). Despite the missed opportunity to earn some breathing room, Indiana Wesleyan did not trail over the final 15 minutes of the half.

Georgetown (2-1) took it to Indiana Wesleyan in the first seven minutes of the second half. Georgetown would score 12 of the first 18 points in the period to gain a 41-40 lead, their first lead since 8-7 with the game five minutes old.

But 20 seconds later Indiana Wesleyan recaptured the lead 42-41 when Blackmon pulled down an offensive rebound and scored. The Blackmon bucket spurred a 14-4 run to give Indiana Wesleyan the 54-45 lead. IWU would not trail or be threatened the rest of the evening.

“I thought a key to the game was when we came back and retook a lead at 42-41,” stated Brooks. “We didn’t let them keep the lead. We went right back and got the lead and we were able to extend it from there. I thought that was really big because there could have been a momentum shift and it didn’t happen, we fought through it.”

Indiana Wesleyan continued to increase their advantage to as many as 14 points. IWU ended the night on a 22-8 run for the 62-49 victory.

A big key to the victory was once again the stout Wildcat defense. It limited the Tigers’ top two scorers, Andrea Howard and Kourtney Tyra, to 20 points tonight. The duo has combined to average 36.5 points to start the season. The Tigers had four players average double figures this season for 58.5 points and that group was limited to just 28 points.

“It was big for us tonight to stop Howard and Tyra,” said Brooks. “They both score 18 a game and we held them to 13 and 7. That was a good effort to stop them because they are explosive players.”

Blackmon was the only Wildcat in double figures with 19 points, but the pair of Val Sohasky and Erika Isham combined for 15 points and five rebounds in the post.

“We needed it,” continued Brooks. “We needed that kind of play out of our post and I get excited when I look and see what Erika and Val did because between the two of them we got 15 points out of the post, and Paige averaged 16 last year. So that is a good performance for us out of that position.”

Emma Stahl added eight points and five assists and freshman Chelsea Winner came off the bench to spark the Wildcats with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.

The weekend does not get much easier for Indiana Wesleyan at the Grace Classic in Winona Lake, Indiana. IWU plays No. 9 St. Xavier (Ill.) on Friday at 2 p.m. and then No. 21 Purdue Calumet (Ind.) on Saturday at 10 a.m.