MARION, Ind. -- A battle of contrasting styles clashed today in Luckey Arena as No. 5-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball defeated No. 12-ranked Marian (Ind.) 75-61.

“I was really pleased with the effort,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. “We got a big win against a quality opponent at home in the conference. That’s the right step to take.”

Indiana Wesleyan (13-3, 4-0 CL) came into the matchup with the fourth best defense in the country as opponents have scored 50.7 points per game. Marian is fourth in the nation offensively with 86.4 points per game and was also ranked in the top-five in field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and assists.

The stout Wildcat defense limited the Knights to 44.9-percent shooting on 22-of-49 shots. The Knights lead the nation in field goal percentage at 50.5-percent. IWU also limited the Knights to 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The 3-point shots made and attempted were each season-lows for the Knights.

Marian (14-2, 3-1 CL) is led this season by Lakan Hasser-Smith with 17.9 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Crossroads League. She was limited to a season-low four points on 1-of-9 shooting.

“It was a team thing,” Brooks said about the defensive effort vs. Hasser-Smith. “Our defense today was definitely a team thing because we switched everything. We didn’t want to give them a wide open look and let them set their feet. It wasn’t just one person it was a whole team effort.”

Teneil Krebs (SR/Bucyrus, Ohio) drilled a 3-pointer with 14 minutes left in the opening half to give Indiana Wesleyan a 10-8 advantage. IWU never surrendered the lead the rest of the game. Three times in the opening half Indiana Wesleyan built leads of double digits, with the final of those coming on a Chelsea Winner (SO/Maria Stein, Ohio) bucket for a 34-24 lead with 1:19 to play. Emma Stahl (SR/Elkhart, Ind.) finished the half with a basket at the buzzer to give Indiana Wesleyan a 39-26 lead at the break.

The Wildcats led by double digits the entire second half. The largest lead of the day was 19 points when Katrina Blackmon (SR/Marion, Ind.) scored down low for a 70-51 lead and 4:36 on the clock. Blackmon tied a career-high with 20 points and she also contributed 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

“I thought there was a focus to what we were doing,” added Brooks. “We got really good play from everybody that got in the game. I was pleased with how Katrina battled, not just her finishing at the basket with contact, but also the way she rebounded the ball.”

Winner finished with 14 points and Krebs added 13 points and 4 rebounds. Indiana Wesleyan shot 60.0-percent (27 of 45) from the floor and out-rebounded Marian 27-22.

 “It was an intense game,” said Brooks. “Hopefully our defense made it feel that way. We worked really hard in preparation coming into a big week.”

Indiana Wesleyan will start a two-game swing on the road next week with the first of those coming Wednesday at No. 16-ranked Huntington (Ind.).