INDIANAPOLIS - The No. 24-ranked Marian University women's basketball team lost a hard fought, defensive battle to the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan University, 73-52, on Saturday at the Physical Education Center. The No. 9-ranked Wildcats lead the conference with a 12-2 record in the MCC and 23-5 overall, while the Knights dropped to 7-7 in conference play and 16-12 overall.

Sophomore Emily Smithson (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) led a pair of Knights in double figures with a team-high 20 points.

The Knights came out strong on defense limiting the Wildcats to only 35 percent (9-of-26) shooting from the field and zero percent behind from beyond-the-arc in the first half of play. However, the Knights were unable to convert on the offensive end as they shot just 30 percent (6-of-20).

IWU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before Smithson hit a pair of free throws with 14:43 to break the MU scoring drought. The Knights would get to within two at 22-20 with 7:01 to play in the half, when freshman Natalie Robinson (Wingate, Ind./Fountain Central) converted the old-fashioned three-point play. That would be the closest Marian would come. The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to end the half, and took a 36-21 lead into the locker room.

The Knights kept up the defensive intensity in the second half, but were unable to bring the lead to within single digits. Senior Theresa Fairbrother (Danville, Ind./Danville) entered the game and hit a pair of three-pointers to spark the MU offense. The effort was not enough as the Wildcats converted on 15-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe and shot 40 percent (9-of-23) from the field. IWU came away with the 73-52 victory.

Sophomore Rachel Kenney (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) was also in double figures for the Knights with 11 points, while going 5-of-5 from the field. Senior Kristin Houck (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) had a team-high seven rebounds.

The Knights will take on Goshen College on Wednesday evening at the Physical Education Center. The four MU seniors will be honored prior to the game. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. LIVE AUDIO and LIVE STATISTICS will be available at www.muknights.com.