WHITING, Ind. - The Marian University women's basketball team salvaged a split at the Crimson Wave Classic on Saturday with a 60-45 victory over Calumet College of Saint Joseph in Whiting, Ind.

Sophomores Rachel Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) and Emily Smithson (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) each notched 11 points to lead the Knights as they improved to 8-6 on the season.

After the Knights opened a 4-0 lead, the Crimson Wave knotted the score and took their first lead of the afternoon, 6-4, with 14:43 to go in the first half. A three-pointer from freshman Nikki Schmidt (Avon, Ind./Avon) gave the Knights a 7-6 lead with 13:40 to go in the first frame, and sparked an 11-0 run to push the Knights to a nine-point lead, 15-6, with 10:32 to go in the half.

After exchanging buckets to make the score 17-9, senior Kristin Houck (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) hit a jumper to spark a 10-2 run that pushed the Knights' lead to 16 points, 27-11, with 6:05 remaining. While they were out-scored 10-7 over the final six minutes, the Knights went into the locker room with a 34-21 lead at the interval.

The Crimson Wave got to within four at 45-41 with 4:38 to go, but the Knights went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-point lead at 55-41 and never looked back. They closed out the tournament with a 60-45 win.

Senior Molly Lauck (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) crashed the boards for the Knights as she hauled down 17 rebounds including five on the offensive end. She also added eight points, while Houck poured in nine.

The Knights take just over a week away for Christmas before they play host to the Marian University Holiday Classic on December 29 and 30. Marian will battle Holy Cross College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. They will take on Concordia (Mich.) at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.