MARION, Ind. -- Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball won its ninth straight game to open the season with a 71-42 victory over visiting Grace (Ind.) on Wednesday night Luckey Arena.

It took nearly four minutes for Indiana Wesleyan to get on the board when Emma Stahl drove to the basket with 16:07 on the clock. Stahl’s basket tied the game 2-2 and from there on out it was all Indiana Wesleyan.

The Stahl basket sparked a 16-2 run and the lead was double digits the rest of the evening. Fueling the big run was Katrina Blackmon with seven points. Blackmon was the only Wildcat in double figures tonight with 13 points. She hit 5-of-11 from the floor and she added game-highs of seven rebounds and five steals.

Indiana Wesleyan (9-0, 2-0 CL) would lead by as many as 19 points in the first half. Jessica Brown connected on one of two free throws to put IWU in front 28-9 with 4:16 left before halftime. Grace scored eight of the last 12 points in the first half as Indiana Wesleyan led 32-17.

A 15-3 spurt to open the second half allowed Indiana Wesleyan to build its advantage to 47-20. The lead continued to grow to as high as 37 when Tori Kraft hit a free throw for a 65-28 lead and 5:23 left to play.

Thirteen Wildcats scored in the victory and all 15 Wildcats that played saw at least four minutes on the court. Taylor Goshert earned nine points while Val Sohasky and Teneil Krebs each added eight points. Kraft and Chelsea Winner each contributed five points.

Indiana Wesleyan dominated the boards with a 40-23 advantage. There were 12 Indiana Wesleyan players with at least one rebound and IWU had 16 offensive boards, led by Erika Isham and Winner with four apiece.

Stahl dished out six assists which was three times as many as the whole Grace squad. IWU had 12 assists in all compared to just two for Grace.

Grace was led in scoring by Juaneice Jackson with 14 points. She entered the game tonight with a Crossroads League best 22.3 point scoring average.

Saturday is the next game for Indiana Wesleyan and it is a big one. No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan travels to Fort Wayne, Indiana to battle No. 2 University of Saint Francis (Ind.). The top two teams in NAIA Division II will tip-off at 1 p.m.