INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian University women's basketball team utilized relentless defensive pressure and a red-hot shooting night to knock off NAIA Division II No. 10-ranked Taylor University, 85-66, at the Physical Education Center on Tuesday night.

The Knights won their 11th game in their last 13 to improve to 11-6 on the season and 3-1 in the Mid-Central College Conference.

Senior Kristin Houck (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) led four Knights in double figures after she tallied a game- and career-high 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, and had a game-high four blocked shots.

After the teams traded the lead three times in the first 4:18 and Taylor up 5-4, the Knights went on a 9-0 run to open a 13-5 lead with 14:06 to go in the first half. A Trojan three-pointer at the 13:28 mark ended the run, but the defense tightened down as the offense blew the game open.

A jumper by Houck sparked an 11-0 run over the next 2:43 to put the Knights up by a 24-8 margin with 10:45 remaining. A three-pointer by senior Theresa Fairbrother capped the run before a Trojan layup snapped it with 10:18 to go.

The Knights out-scored the Trojans 17-10 over the final 10 minutes before Fairbrother struck one more time with a three-point bucket as the horn sounded to send the teams to the locker room. The Knights had a 24-point lead, 44-20, over the 10th-ranked Trojans after 20 minutes of play.

Houck scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the first half on 5-for-6 shooting.

The Knights shot a blistering 61 percent (19-for-31) in the first half, and utilized a 22-8 advantage in the paint. They also held a 13-6 advantage in points off turnovers to open the lead.

The teams traded buckets out of the locker room before the Knights were able to go on a 7-0 run to open a 29-point lead at 53-24 with 15:15 remaining in the game. However, the Trojan offense closed the gap to 21 at 53-32 with an 8-0 run that ended with a layup by sophomore Rachel Kenney at the 12:55 mark.

The Knights were able to maintain their lead until the 10:39 mark when the Trojans embarked on another 7-0 run to cut the lead to 17, 63-46, with 9:23 remaining. The Knights were able to push the lead back to 23, but Taylor cut it back to 19 as they were not about to hang it up.

With the score 71-52, the Knights went on another 11-0 run to take a 30-point lead, 82-52, with 4:10 to go. The Trojans snapped the run, but the Knights pushed the lead back to 30, 85-55, with 3:34 to go. Taylor ended the game on an 11-0 run, but not before the damage had been done as the Knights were able to pull off the upset in impressive fashion, 85-66.

The Knights finished the game shooting 56 percent (35-for-63) from the field and held a 50-34 advantage in points in the paint. They also held a 10-0 advantage in fast break points.

Sophomore Rachel Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) scored 16 of her 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the second half. She also finished with a game-high nine rebounds.

Senior Molly Lauck (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) finished with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior Theresa Fairbrother (Danville, Ind./Danville) finished with 11 points, all in the first half, on 4-for-4 shooting. She was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Freshman Amie Larkins (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) tallied a career-high eight assists in 16 minutes of action.

The Knights remain at home when the No. 15-ranked Bethel College Pilots come to the Physical Education Center on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. with LIVE STATISTICS available at www.muknights.com. The game will also air LIVE at www.muknights.com.