MARION, Ind. -- A two point game at halftime turned into a 73-55 victory for No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball over visiting No. 24 Cornerstone (Mich.) on Saturday in Luckey Arena.

The Wildcats outscored the Golden Eagles 43-27 in the second half. IWU shot a blistering 62.1-percent in the second half on 18-of-29 shooting.

“We were playing as five individuals instead of playing as a team. There was no flow to anything we did in the first half,” said IWU head coach Steve Brooks. “In the second half we started moving the ball and started getting some ball reversals. We started attacking and that gave some really good opportunities for us. If we do that it makes it a lot easier offensively for us to compete.”

Indiana Wesleyan (7-1) led 30-28 at the break but broke the game open with an explosive first 10 minutes of the second half. IWU opened the second half on a 26-8 run to gain a 20 point advantage at 56-36. The 20 point lead was the largest of the game and was reached five times. The last of those 20 point leads came on a Katrina Blackmon (SR/Marion, Ind.) field goal with 1:56 left in the game.

Indiana Wesleyan kept Cornerstone (4-4) to 38.8-percent (19 of 49) shooting on Saturday and 30.0-percent (3 of 10) from 3-point range. Cornerstone committed 20 turnovers as Indiana Wesleyan earned nine steals.

“In the first half we were not communicating very well,” continued Brooks. “We let them get the ball in spots that we said not to let them get it. We just did a better job of talking to each other in the second half and keeping the ball out of those areas. That affected their effectiveness.”

Indiana Wesleyan was led today by Carlee Cottrell (JR/West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Katrina Blackmon. Cottrell scored a game-high and career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The junior was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Blackmon contributed 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The senior forward dished out a career-best eight assists.

“The ball started to move in the second half and had some flow,” stated Brooks. “That created some wide open looks for us. Carlee is a good shooter and we were able to take advantage of that. Katrina made some really nice reads at the right time and created open looks for Carlee and other kids too. That enabled us to have the second half that we did.”

Erika Isham (SR/Tekonsha, Mich.) was the third Wildcat in double figures as she ended the day with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Indiana Wesleyan completed the afternoon with a 50.0-percent (27 of 54) field goal percentage and 50.0-percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range. IWU earned assists on 19 of 27 field goals while committing just nine turnovers.

Indiana Wesleyan will return to Crossroads League play next week as they play at Grace (Ind.) on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Winona Lake, Indiana.