NEW ALBANY, Ind. – Tough defense and a balanced offense helped IU Southeast defeat Asbury 81-73 on Saturday.

Ariana Sandefur had 17 points to lead IU Southeast. Hannah Coleman had 16 points, Madi Woods had 15, including 12 in the first half. Natalie Fichter added 14 points and nine rebounds.

IU Southeast (9-3, 2-0 RSC) jumped out to a 7-0 before Asbury cut the lead to 15-13 late in the first quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Natalie FIchter gave the Grenadiers a 19-13 lead after the first quarter.

The Eagles (12-2, 2-1 RSC) bounced back in the second quarter and outscored the Grenadiers 21-14 to take a 34-33 lead to halftime. Madi Woods was the offensive spark for the Grenadiers in the first half as she had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.

Asbury took a 49-44 lead in the with 3:30 to play in the third quarter but the Grenadiers closed the period on a 7-0 run to take a 51-49 lead to the fourth.

Natalie Fichter scored, then Ariana Sandefur made three of four free throws to tie the game. A steal and layup by Lauren Lambdin at the buzzer gave the Grenadiers the advantage after three periods of play.

Madi Woods hit a three-pointer to extend the IU Southeast lead to 66-61 but a three-pointer by Sarah King cut the lead to two with four minutes to play.

Then Hannah Coleman took over to put game away. She hit a jumper off the glass and two free throws to extend the lead to 70-67.

Kelsey Johnson cut the lead to 73-71 on a jumper. Ariana Sandefur answered with a three-point play.

Lauren Lambdin secured the win with two free throws and then Coleman scored off of a layup after a defensive stand.

Hannah Coleman scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter. IU Southeast held Asbury to 32 percent shooting from the feild, 11 percentage points off of their season average.

IU Southeast travels to the University of the Cumberlands Saturday at 4 p.m.