GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Lindsey Brenneman tallied 15 points on Wednesday.

Rock Island, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team led the entire game and scored the game's final eight points to defeat Augustana College 78-67 on Wednesday.

The Thunder won its fifth-straight to run its record to 12-6 overall and 5-2 in the CCIW. The Vikings fall to 9-9 and 1-6 in conference play.

Wheaton got off to a fast start in the Carver Center with a 14-2 lead in the first three minutes. The hosts began to slowly whittle that advantage down over the course of the half as the Thunder went into halftime with a 40-35 advantage.

Augustana stayed afloat in part thanks to rebounding. The Vikings pulled down 23 boards in the half compared to 14 by the Thunder. Point guard Brooke Olson (PICTURED RIGHT) totaled eight points at the break with seven points coming from Elisabeth Potts.

The second half played out very evenly. Every time Wheaton tried to pull ahead by double digits, Augustana answered offensively to keep the proceedings close. The Vikings eventually got within three points with only one minute remaining in the game. But  Olson immediately responded on the next possession with a three pointer to put Wheaton up by six points.

From that point on, Wheaton scored the game's last eight points to close out the win. Four points came from Laura Karsten (PICTURED LEFT) on free throws during the final run.

The Thunder's long-range gunning continued its torrid stretch, nailing 9 of 20  from beyond the arc (45 percent). Wheaton has made 49 of 96 three-pointers (51 percent) over its last five games.

Lindsey Brenneman led the scoring push with 15 points and three treys. Potts tallied 14 points. Karsten and Olson each picked up six assists and six rebounds to go with 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Wheaton ended up shooting 26 of 55 from the field (47 percent) and 17 of 25 from the charity stripe (68 percent).

Augustana shot 45 percent on the night (26 of 58), 43 percent from three-point range (3 of 7) and 80 percent from the line (12 of 15). The Vikings also owned a 40-28 rebounding edge, but lost the turnover battle 16-10. Chaney Tambling ended up with 13 points while Natalie Runge and Molly Ethridge added 12 points apiece.

The Thunder return home on Saturday for a 6 PM game versus Illinois Wesleyan University.