GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Ellie Zeller scored a career high 27 points in Wheaton's 93-85 loss at Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday.

Bloomington, Ill.- A strong second half push wasn't enough for the Wheaton women's basketball team on Saturday in a 93-85 loss at Illinois Wesleyan. Early turnovers put the Thunder a big hole that it would not recover from as Wheaton dropped its second straight game. Wheaton is now 12-3 on the season and 3-2 in CCIW play. Illinois Wesleyan improves to 11-5 and 5-0 in the CCIW.

Wheaton shot 54.5% (30-55) from the field including a strong 8-for-12 showing from the three-point line. Wheaton struggled at the free throw line making just 17 of its 31 attempts for a 54.8% free throw percentage. Illinois Wesleyan shot 53.5% (38-71) from the field despite hitting just four of its 15 three-point attempts. The Titans were 13-of-19 from the free throw line for a 68.4% clip.

After an early 4-4 start, Illinois Wesleyan used its full court pressure to spark an 18-2 run and jump out to a 22-6 lead. Wheaton was able to pull the lead back to single digits late in the first half, allowing the Thunder to take the momentum into halftime trailing just 45-37. Illinois Wesleyan forced 16 of its 25 turnovers in the first half.

The Titans opened the second half on a 19-8 run in the opening six minutes of the second half to extend the lead to a game-high 19 points at 64-45. A pair of three-pointers by Chantal Meacham (PICTURED RIGHT) and two jumpers by Ellie Zeller helped spark an extended 26-11 run by the Thunder that cut the Titans' lead to 75-71 with 7:06 to play. The Titans responded by scoring the next seven points to push the lead back to double digits at 82-71. Illinois Wesleyan kept the lead in double figures until a three-pointer by Lauren Graham and two free throws by Melodie Yu in the final minute cut the score to the final tally of 93-85.

Ellie Zeller scored a game-high and career high 27 points in the loss, shooting 8-for-11 from the field. Chantal Meacham hit five of her seven three-point attempts to finish with 15 points, Katie McDaniels scored 13 points and Maris Hovee finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Colleen McMahon led five Titans in double figures with 26 points and Shelby Jackson added 17 for the Titans.

Wheaton will remain on the road for its next contest, a 7 PM Wednesday-night matchup with North Park University on January 22.