Box Score WINONA LAKE, Ind. — Indiana Wesleyan Women's Basketball opened the 2026-27 season with a 72-60 win over Cumberland University on Friday in the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. The Wildcats outrebounded the Phoenix 46-30 and held a 36-18 advantage in the paint. IWU's bench contributed 38 points to the victory. Joslyn Bricker led the Wildcats with 22 points, going 10-of-12 from the free-throw line, and added four steals.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Winona Lake, Ind. | Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center
- Records: IWU: 1-0 | CU: 2-1
- NAIA Ranking: IWU - 14 | CU - NR
FIRST QUARTER
- Kylie Bettinger opened the scoring with a 3-pointer at 9:32, assisted by Joslyn Bricker.
- Cumberland answered with a pair of 3-pointers from Cara Lee Gilbert, the second at 3:43 giving the Phoenix an 8–3 lead.
- Gilbert's free throws at 3:25 stretched Cumberland's lead to 10–3, its largest of the night.
- Vanessa Rosswurm's 3-pointer at 1:08 cut the deficit to 10–8, but CU closed the quarter ahead 12–8.
SECOND QUARTER
- Myla Browning's fast-break layup at 9:14 pulled IWU within two.
- Kyra Hill tied the game at 15 at 6:34, and Emily Mattingly gave the red and grey the lead with a layup at 5:57 off her own steal, making it 17–15.
- Bricker added a layup and a jumper to push the advantage to 21–17 at 4:11.
- Cumberland responded with a 10–2 run to close the half, highlighted by six points from Gilbert, taking a 27–23 lead into halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
- IWU opened the second half on a 10–0 run, with Hill scoring six points during the stretch to turn a 27–23 deficit into a 33–27 lead at 6:43.
- Cumberland cut it to 35–33 on a 3-pointer by Taylor Dolente at 4:16.
- Rosswurm answered with a fast-break jumper at 3:42, and Carley Moellering added two free throws at 2:56 to restore a six-point lead.
- Bricker scored four points in seven seconds, with two free throws at 1:11 and a fast-break layup off her own steal at 1:04, as the Wildcats led 45–37 after three quarters.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Bricker went 4-for-4 from the line early in the quarter to push the lead to 51–38 at 7:43.
- Bettinger's fast-break 3-pointer at 6:28, assisted by Mattingly, made it 56–41.
- Mattingly's layup at 5:24 gave IWU its largest lead of the night at 17 points, 58–41.
- Cumberland hit three 3-pointers in the final 3:05 to pull within 64–55, but Hill answered with two free throws at 1:26.
- Bricker sealed the win with a layup at 0:58 and four free throws in the final minute as Indiana Wesleyan closed out the 72–60 victory.
KEY WILDCATS
LOOKING AHEAD
- The Wildcats continue play in Winona Lake, IN, where they will face Miami University (Hamilton) on October 31st at 1:00 PM ET.
- Links for Live Stats and Video will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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