MARION, Ind. -- Erika Isham (SR/Tekonsha, Mich.) tied a career-high with 18 points this afternoon as No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball beat visiting Spring Arbor (Mich.) 66-55 inside Luckey Arena.

Isham was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field and she also hit both free throw attempts. She scored 18 points for the second time in her career as earlier this season she scored 18 points against IU Southeast. Isham also contributed three blocked shots and two steals.

Indiana Wesleyan has won seven straight games to improve to 17-3 on the season and 8-0 in the Crossroads League while Spring Arbor drops to 6-13 and 1-7 in league play. But Indiana Wesleyan struggled to put away Spring Arbor today and did not gain a double digit lead until 11 minutes remained in the game.

“We were inconsistent today,” said IWU head coach Steve Brooks. “I hope this is a wakeup call for them. It is not a good thing when a team comes in and outplays you on your home floor.”

Indiana Wesleyan quickly doubled up Spring Arbor in the first four minutes with a 10-5 advantage. Four Wildcats scored in that span, including an old-fashion 3-point play from Emma Stahl (SR/Elkhart, Ind.) and a 3-point basket by Kelsey Key (SO/Anderson, Ind.).

Spring Arbor answered with a 12-2 run and claimed a 17-12 lead. That five point lead quickly vanished as Tori Kraft (JR/Harbor Beach, Mich.) scored a 3-pointer and then a basket in the paint on back-to-back possessions for Indiana Wesleyan as the game was now tied 17-17.

The next five and a half minutes featured three ties with neither team leading by more than four points. Chelsea Winner (SO/Maria Stein, Ohio) connected on two free throws with 5:30 left in the half to force the final tie and then give Indiana Wesleyan a 27-26 lead. Those free throws ignited a 13-4 run to end the half as Indiana Wesleyan held its largest lead of the half, 38-30.

The Cougars scored 11 of the first 15 points of the second half to narrow the score to one point at 42-41. But the Wildcats responded with the next eight points to lead 50-41.

Isham scored with 12:39 on the clock to give Indiana Wesleyan its first double digit lead of the day at 56-45. That lead grew to 15 points at 60-45 when Isham again scored in the paint with 9:18 remaining. But Indiana Wesleyan failed to score over the next 7 minutes 35 seconds as Spring Arbor cut the deficit to 60-52.

But Kelsey Key broke the draught with a basket with 1:43 left on the clock. The Cougars hit a 3-pointer to trail 62-55 but the Wildcats scored the final four points of the game for the 66-55 victory.

 “Spring Arbor played tough, hard-nosed basketball,” said Brooks. “They got after it and we responded at times. There were times when we responded and there were times we played laissez faire. We are going to see team’s best efforts and we saw their best effort today. Hopefully it is a lesson.”

Indiana Wesleyan next plays at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night in a road game at Goshen (Ind.).