MARION, Ind. -- Bethel (Ind.) was on their way to pulling off the upset at Luckey Arena today and hand No. 5-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball their first home loss of the season.

Bethel (8-14, 3-7 CL), which led by 10 points with 5 minutes remaining, had an eight point lead on two free throws with 1:45 left to play. But Indiana Wesleyan mounted a frantic rally and finished the game on a 16-3 run to win 69-64 for their 10th consecutive victory.

“It’s good to be able to win a game when you are not at your best,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. “I’m really proud of the perseverance and that they didn’t quit and give up. We talk about playing 40 minutes and we used every second of this game to get a win. That is a credit to Bethel and the way they played us.”

Igniting the final stretch run for the Wildcats was Carlee Cottrell with a 3-point basket just five seconds after the Bethel free throws. After a defensive stop, Taylor Goshert knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one possession game at 61-58.

Indiana Wesleyan (19-3, 3-1 CL) immediately fouled and Bethel went to the line and hit 1-of-2 free throws. IWU quickly brought the ball down the floor and Emma Stahl went straight to the basket in traffic and was fouled. She hit both free throws to close the deficit to 62-60. Bethel tried to inbound the ball and then attempted to call a timeout, but not before the referee called a 5-second violation.

Stahl made the inbound pass to a wide-open Teneil Krebs in the corner and she calmly knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer for a 63-62 lead with 50 second remaining. With the basket, IWU had outscored Bethel 10-1 in the 50 second stretch.

“We stayed in the game,” said Brooks. “I thought our kids did a really good job of being able to handle the situation. We went small at the end and we were able to defend them better. And we went with offensive and defensive substitutions earlier than normal.”

The Pilots quickly came down the court and launched a 3-point attempt that was off the mark. Goshert pulled down the board and was fouled. She hit both free throws for a 65-62 advantage with 21 seconds remaining. Chelsea Ward quickly scored on a layup for Bethel to trim the IWU lead to 65-64. Goshert was again fouled and sank both free throw attempts for the three point lead with 16 seconds left.

Bethel tried another quick score underneath but missed and Katrina Blackmon grabbed the rebound and passed to Goshert who was fouled with nine seconds to go. She finished her great free throw shooting down the stretch with two more makes to ice the game 69-64.

“A lot of people left us for dead but our kids didn’t,” continued Brooks. “We attacked the basket, whether in man or zone, we kept attacking the basket. We were very lethargic and robotic on offense most of the game. But in the last five or six minutes we started to attack the basket and created some opportunities.”

“There were times we could have hung our heads and we didn’t. We focused and competed.”

Krebs scored a career-high 19 points. She was 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from 3-point range, including the go ahead basket. Her previous career-high was 14.

“She hit big shot after big shot,” stated Brooks. “Then she hit big free throws. And we needed that because we did not have a lot going for us.”

Goshert was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 19 points. She hit 5-of-11 shots and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Stahl added 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists while Sohasky chipped in 7 points and 8 rebounds. Blackmon just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 boards.

Indiana Wesleyan committed just eight turnovers in the game which is the second lowest total of the season. Their low game was five turnovers in the first meeting between the two teams in Mishawaka. IWU also shot extremely well from the foul line with an 82.1-percent (23 of 28) afternoon.

Indiana Wesleyan will travel to Winona Lake, Indiana on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off with Grace (Ind.). IWU then hosts No. 1-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) at 1 p.m. next Saturday in Luckey Arena.