MARION, Ind. - The 14th-ranked Marian University women's basketball team traveled to Indiana Wesleyan University on Wednesday night for a key Mid-Central College Conference showdown with the sixth-ranked Wildcats at Luckey Arena. Although they rallied in the second half, the Knights could not overcome IWU in a 55-40 defeat.

Sophomore Rachel Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville), the reigning NAIA National Player of the Week, tallied a game-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to lead the Knights. The defeat snapped their five-game winning streak, and it sdropped their record to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in the MCC.

The Wildcats opened the game with a 10-2 lead and were able to push the lead to as high as 13, 30-17, before the Knights closed the half with the final four points to head into the locker room down nine at 30-21.

Although they were down nine at half, the Knights played even with the Wildcats on the stat sheet as both teams shot 42 percent from the field.

After the Wildcats scored the first bucket off the second half, the Knights cut the lead back to seven, 32-25, with 16:44 to go. The two teams traded buckets over the next 3:50 and, with the score 36-27, the Knights embarked on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two at 38-36 with 6:53 remaining. They had held the IWU offense to just eight points over the first 13:07 of the second half to cut the lead to seven.

However, a quick 10-0 IWU run pushed the lead back up to 12 at 48-36 with 4:36 to go. The Knights could not recover as IWU was able to pick up the 55-40 victory.

The Knights shot just 36 percent (7-of-23) in the second frame and were 0-for-6 from three-point range. They did out-rebound the Wildcats, 30-27, including a 12-6 edge on the offensive glass.

Senior Molly Lauck (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) added 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Knights.

Marian University hits the road on Saturday when the Knights head to Goshen College for a crucial MCC showdown. Tip-off from the Gingerich Center in Goshen, Ind., is slated for 1 p.m.