MISHAWAKA, Ind. - The No. 24-ranked Marian University women's basketball team dropped a crucial conference match-up on the road at Bethel College, 57-52, on Wednesday in Mishawaka. The loss dropped the Knights to 16-11 overall and 7-6 in MCC play. Bethel improved to in the MCC and overall.

The Knights were led by sophomore Emily Smithson (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) and freshman Rachel Turk (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) both tallied 10 points for the Knights, while Smithson dished out three assists and Turk pulled down eight rebounds.

The Pilots jumped out to an early lead, going on a 9-0 run until the 15:08 mark when Turk hit a pair of free throws to make the score 9-2. Bethel would go on to lead by as many as 18 in the half before Marian was able to cut the lead to five, 42-37, on a shot from Turk inside the paint at the 7:36 mark. The Knights only shot 19 percent (6-of-32) in the first half, while Bethel hit 44 percent (11-of-25) of its shots. MU would trail by a score of 32-19 going into the locker room.

The second half saw a vast improvement from the Knights as they shot 42 percent (14-of-33) from the field. With 13:32 left in the game, Turk started a 9-0 run for the Knights which was finished off by freshman Natalie Robinson (Wingate, Ind./Fountain Central), who converted from beyond-the-arc to pull MU within six at 41-35. Marian maintained the defensive intensity and brought the lead to four before Bethel sealed the deal from the charity stripe and went on to the 57-52 win.

Robinson would finish with nine points for the Knights, while sophomore Rachel Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) added eight points and seven rebounds.

The Knights are back in action on Saturday at the Physical Education Center as they take on the No. 9-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats. Tip is slated for 1 p.m. LIVE AUDIO and LIVE STATISTICS will be provided at www.muknights.com.