They didn't back down.

Leading the Fort Wayne Flash by two scores and looking to make that lead even larger, the wheels began to fall off for the Mayhem, who presented the Flash with opportunities to close the gap. In the end, though, their defense came through, and West Michigan held on for a 14-5 win.

``We made some mistakes in the fourth quarter, but it was nice to know that our defense can back us up,'' said Catherine Converse, who racked up 96 yards and scored both of the Mayhem's touchdowns. ``Over the years we've always had a tough defense and they helped us out tonight.''

Even after forcing two turnovers and being the beneficiary of a botched kickoff, the Flash (2-3) still couldn't find a way to beat the Mayhem (4-1) defense and make their way back into the ballgame.

``Our offense just isn't quite there,'' Flash coach Scott Floyd said. ``We've got rookie receivers and a rookie quarterback, and (Saturday night) was a maturation process. I told our players that the difference out there was that they're the more experienced team.''

In response to the turnovers, the Mayhem defense stood firm, including a stop on fourth-and-inches at its own 10-yard line after an interception gave the Flash the ball at the 21.

After another turnover, the defense was quickly back to work and again kept the Flash from sustaining a drive, forcing a three-and-out.

While the defense was solid throughout, the offense was efficient enough for the Mayhem to earn the win, as they relied on the legs of Converse to put them over the top.

``She had a nice game. Fort Wayne had a big size advantage but we had speed, and that put us over the top,'' said Mayhem coach Jon Paul Jones, whose team hits the road next for a matchup with the Tree Town Spitfire (Ann Arbor).

Last time West Michigan and Fort Wayne met, on April 14 in Fort Wayne, the Mayhem squeaked out a 6-0 win in snowy conditions. Then, the Mayhem's speed was hampered. Saturday night, however, was a different story, as Converse took several sweeps to the outside and found daylight.

``We're definitely getting a lot better on that,'' Converse said. ``My line and lead blockers are doing a great job and we were very successful on those plays.''