FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- For the first time in three years the No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball team left Fort Wayne, Indiana with a win as they defeated No. 7-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) 67-54.

Indiana Wesleyan (21-3, 12-0 CL) led by two points at halftime and used a strong second half to pull away with the 67-54 victory. The win snaps a 38-game home win streak by Saint Francis. The last home loss for USF was a 57-54 loss to Grace (Ind.) on February 11, 2012.

“I was really proud of the kids and their effort,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Steve Brooks. “I though they really pulled together at the right times, especially on defense where we made it hard on them to score. They are a very potent offense and I think we made it hard on them to be able to do that. And we did a lot better job of limiting offensive rebound put backs.”

Indiana Wesleyan scored 8 of the first 11 points to jump out to the early advantage. IWU held that lead into halftime up 32-30.

Saint Francis (17-7, 8-4 CL) tied the score early in the second half on two occasions. But Indiana Wesleyan used a 13-3 burst to regain the lead at 47-37. Over the next eight minutes the Indiana Wesleyan advantage remained between 8-to-13 points until a Brooke Ridley 3-point play helped Saint Francis trim the deficit to 55-48.

Saint Francis could get no closer than the seven points the rest of the way. Indiana Wesleyan built the lead up to 13 on multiple occasions before closing out the 67-54 victory.

“Right at the end of the half they went on a little bit of a run and got it to within two, which was frustrating,” said Brooks. “We had some mental breakdowns which led to some open looks for them. To start the second half we were able to keep them at bay and we went on some runs to get some separation.”

Indiana Wesleyan shot 47.9-percent (23 of 48) from the field and boasted four players in double figures. Teneil Krebs (SR/Bucyrus, Ohio) led the way with 14 points while Chelsea Winner (SO/Maria Stein, Ohio) added 12. Carlee Cottrell (JR/West Bloomfield, Mich.) finished with 11 points and Katrina Blackmon (SR/Marion, Ind.) contributed 10 points.

Saint Francis shot 35.6-percent (21 of 59) from the field. USF was led by Akyah Taylor with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Brooke Ridley with 17 points and 10 boards.

Indiana Wesleyan returns to Luckey Arena for a pair of home games. IWU hosts Huntington (Ind.) on Wednesday and then Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) on Saturday.