MARION, Ind. -- It took overtime but No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball won their fifth straight game as they defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 75-69 in Luckey Arena. It was the final regular season home game for Indiana Wesleyan as they are now locked in as the No. 3-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament.

Game Vitals

• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan - 75   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene - 69  (OT)
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 23-6, 12-5 Crossroads League   |   Mount Vernon Nazarene 10-19, 4-13 Crossroads League
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 15   |  Mount Vernon Nazarene - Not ranked
• Location:   Luckey Arena   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana 
• Brief:  It took overtime but No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball won their fifth straight game as they defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 75-69 in Luckey Arena. It was the final regular season home game for Indiana Wesleyan as they are now locked in as the No. 3-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament.
   

What Went Down

• Indiana Wesleyan quickly jumped on top with an 11-2 run to start the game.
• Mount Vernon Nazarene answered with an 11-3 run to close to within one at 14-13.
• The Cougars briefly took a lead late in the second quarter on a Sierra Basista 3-pointer with 3:10 to go for a 27-26 score.
• Carlee Cottrell (SR/West Bloomfield, Mich.) scored on the next possession for IWU to regain the lead at 28-27.
• The two teams went into halftime all knotted up at 30-30.
• The Wildcats gained the largest lead of the second half at 55-48 with 7:53 left in the fourth quarter. But the Cougars reeled off 10 straight points to take a 58-55 lead with 5:01 left in regulation.
• IWU led 63-60 with under 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Natalie Carpenter hit a contested 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to tie it 63-63. IWU ran a final play but the Kelsey Key (JR/Anderson, Ind.) drive did not connect as the game went to overtime.
• Indiana Wesleyan scored six of the first seven points of OT to lead 69-64 with 1:43 on the clock.
• MVNU drew to within three points on a pair of free throws with 27 seconds to play. But a Tori Kraft (SR/Harbor Beach, Mich.) free throw put IWU up 73-69.
• Indiana Wesleyan got a defensive stop and Erika Isham (SR/Tekonsha, Mich.) pulled down the rebound. She was fouled and hit both free throws to ice the game.
• Four Wildcats scored in double figures as they were led by Chelsea Winner (JR/Maria Stein, Ohio) and Carlee Cottrell with 15 points apiece. Kelsey Key added 14 points and Erika Isham finished with 10.
• The Wildcats shot 50.0-percent from the field on 30-of-60 shooting.
  
   

Coach’s Corner

• “If you want to be a good basketball team and you want to do something special, you have to be able to control the things that you can control. We did not do that tonight. We didn’t do that on the defensive end and that is really disappointing.”  -- IWU head coach Steve Brooks
   

Extra! Extra!

• Indiana Wesleyan is 10-0 vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene since they joined the Crossroads League in the 2011-12 season.
• With the victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene coupled with the Goshen (Ind.) win over Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan is locked in as the No. 3-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament that begins on Tuesday, February 23.
• Mount Vernon Nazarene is eliminated from the Crossroads League Tournament with the loss.
  
   

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan completes the regular season on Saturday with a road game at Saint Francis (Ind.). Tip-off is at 1 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Indiana.