BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder women's basketball team defeated Elmhurst 75-74 on Tuesday night. Elmhurst led 74-73 when Jamie Jones drove to the basket for a layup that gave Wheaton a 75-74 lead with seven seconds remaining. An Elmhurst three-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired to secure the win for Wheaton.

Wheaton led the Bluejays 39-31 at halftime of the contest. Wheaton held a 60-49 lead with 12:23 left in regulation, when Elmhurst tallied 12-unanswered ponts to take a 61-60 lead with 6:56 remaining in the game. Elmhurst would maintain a narrow margin for much of the rest of the game, with the exception of three ties during that time, however Wheaton never held a lead in that stretch until Jones' game-winning bucket. 

Elmhurst's biggest lead in that stretch over the final 6:56 was a four-point advantage at 74-70 with 1:07 remaining in the game on Wheaton's next posession Annie Bowen collected an offensive rebound and put the ball back into the basket, also collecting a foul on the play. Bowen made the ensuing free throw to convert the convetional three-point play and cut Elmhurst's lead to 74-73 with 50-seconds remaining. On Elmhurst's next trip down the court a Bluejay field goal attempt hit off the rim and Jones collected the rebound. Wheaton brought the ball across halfcourt and called timeout to set up the basket by Jones that would give the Thunder the victory.

Kathleen Fidelia led the Thunder with 21 points, six assists, four steals and nine rebounds. Lynnea Kvam scored 14 points and Lisa Ballenger shot 5-for-5 from the field as she scored 10 points off the bench.  Lindsey Brenneman and Bowen each scored nine points, while Jones added eight points.

Elmhurst's Lyndsie Long scored a career-high 33 points, with 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Meghan Merklein scored 13 points, with nine rebounds and three assists.

Wheaton shot 45.9% (28-61) from the field, with 26.3% (5-19) from three-point range and 83.3% (14-18) at the free throw line. Elmhurst posted a 47% (31-66) field goal percentage, with 30% (3-10) from behind the three-point arc and 52.9% (9-17) at the free throw line. Elmhurst held a 43-30 advantage in rebounding, with a 19-11 edge on the offensive glass.

Wheaton is now 12-7 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Elmhurst falls to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in league play. Wheaton will host North Central on Saturday afternoon in a 2 PM tipoff in King Arena. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WETN-TV (Channel 72) in the Wheaton area and on WETN radio (88.1 FM), with streaming audio and video online at www.wetn.org. Live in-game statistics of the game will be available online.