HUNTINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana Wesleyan had advanced to the Crossroads League Tournament Championship for the fourth consecutive season after leaving Huntington (Ind.) triumphant with a 71-60 victory in the tournament semifinals.

Indiana Wesleyan (26-6) will play No. 1-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Monday in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Wildcats also earned the Crossroads League’s second automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship tonight. Since Saint Francis earned the first bid by winning the regular season and then advanced to the championship game, the Wildcats earn the berth by either winning the tournament championship or by finishing as runner-up. The trip to Sioux City, Iowa will be the Wildcats’ 12th consecutive trip to the national tournament.

On Friday night, Indiana Wesleyan scored the first four points of the game and quickly built a 9-2 lead, an advantage they did not surrender. Before the midpoint of the first half Indiana Wesleyan led 22-9 and claimed a 42-28 halftime lead. IWU led by as many as 15 points in the first 20 minutes.

Seven minutes into the second half, Huntington (23-8) narrowed the deficit to seven points (53-46). HU could get no closer as Indiana Wesleyan scored the next five points to lead by 12. Indiana Wesleyan held a double digit lead for the final 7:23 of the game.

Indiana Wesleyan was led by Taylor Goshert (SR, Warsaw, Ind.) and Erika Isham (JR, Tekonsha, Mich.) with 14 points apiece. Goshert surpassed 1,000 career points with her 14 point effort and Isham had the second highest point total of her career. Isham was 6-of-10 shooting with 3 blocked shots.

Jessica Brown (SO, Greenfield, Ind.) and Carlee Cottrell (SO, West Bloomfield, Mich.) each scored nine points off the bench while Teneil Krebs (JR, Bucyrus, Ohio) chipped in eight. Katrina Blackmon (JR, Marion, Ind.) dished out seven assists as IWU ended the game with 16 assists to just 9 turnovers.

The Wildcats shot a blistering 55.6-percent (15 of 27) in the first half to build the 14 point cushion. IWU finished at 49.1-percent (26 of 53) overall and was 14-of-17 (82.4-percent) from the free throw line. The Wildcats dominated the Foresters in the paint, outscoring them 40-18 down low. The IWU bench contributed 36 points in the victory.

Indiana Wesleyan has one more chance to knock Saint Francis from the ranks of the unbeaten. USF remains the top-ranked team with a 32-0 record. Saint Francis defeated Marian (Ind.) in the other semifinal by a score of 106-77.

The Wildcats have played in the last three tournament championship games and is 2-1 in those contests. Saint Francis defeated IWU last season 54-48 in Luckey Arena. The Wildcats defeated Bethel (Ind.) and Saint Francis in Marion the previous two seasons. IWU is 5-6 all-time in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship games.