MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball claimed their most dominating performance of the season in an 82-27 victory at Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

The Wildcats defense was the main culprit in the 55 point blowout win. The Wildcats limited the Cougars to 14.9-percent (7 of 47) on the day while they missed on all 12 3-point attempts. MVNU (4-11, 1-5 CL) committed 30 turnovers, including 19 in the opening half.

Chelsea Winner (SO/Maria Stein, Ohio) scored a layup on the game’s first possession and Indiana Wesleyan never trailed the entire game. Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as 21 points in the first half before heading into halftime with a 38-19 advantage.

Despite allowing just 19 points and forcing 19 turnovers in the first half, Indiana Wesleyan turned up the defensive effort even more in an imposing second half performance. Sierra Basista connected on a jump shot with 14:53 still on the clock for MVNU. The Basista bucket was the final Mount Vernon Nazarene field goal of the afternoon.

Less than two minutes later, MVNU’s Makenzie Spang sank a pair of free throws as Indiana Wesleyan maintained a 51-27 lead with 13:01 to play. The Indiana Wesleyan defense clamped down even harder and did not allow another Mount Vernon Nazarene point the rest of the game. Indiana Wesleyan scored the final 31 points of the game for the 55 point win.

Indiana Wesleyan (15-3, 6-0 CL) shot 55.2-percent (32 of 58) as a team and 44.4-percent (8 of 18) from 3-point range. IWU won the battle on the boards 40-35 and turned in a 23-17 assists-to-turnover ratio.

All 15 Wildcats saw at least 7 minutes on the floor and 13 found their way into the scoring column. Anna Imhoff (FR/Carmel, Ind.) led all players with 13 points. Imhoff was 3-of-4 from 3-point range and defensively she added three steals. Winner, Carlee Cottrell (JR/West Bloomfield, Mich.), and Kelsey Key (SO/Anderson, Ind.) all added 12 points and Tori Kraft (JR/Harbor Beach, Mich.) finished with 9 points. Katrina Blackmon (SR/Marion, Ind.) and Jessica Brown (JR/Greenfield, Ind.) each contributed four assists while Winner and Haley Woodruff (SO/Evansville, Ind.) each pulled down a team-leading 5 rebounds.

Indiana Wesleyan will return home for two games next week. The first of those home games is against Taylor (Ind.) on Wednesday with a special start time of 5 p.m. IWU then hosts Spring Arbor (Mich.) at 1 p.m. next Saturday.