PICTURED ABOVE: Ellie Zelled scored a game-high 24 points in Wheaton's 78-41 win at Saint Mary's on Saturday.
Notre Dame, Ind. - The Thunder women's basketball team, ranked #19 in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, used a strong first half to coast to a 78-41 season-opening victory at Saint Mary's (Ind.) on Saturday. Wheaton jumped to a 35-8 halftime edge behind a 41% shooting clip and 13 forced turnovers.
Wheaton shot 43.7% (31-71) from the field and 16.7% (3-18) on three-point attempts. Wheaton shot 13-19 (68.4%) from the free throw line. Saint Mary's was hled to just 2-26 shooting in the first half but finished shooting 12-60 (20%) from the field and 0-3 on three-point attempts. The Belles shot 17-26 (65.4%) from the charity stripe.
The Belles took their only lead of the game at 3-2 early in the first half but Wheaton answered with a 15-0 run to take a controlling 17-3 lead. Another 16-0 run followed to pace the Thunder to its 35-8 halftime edge. Wheaton held a 20-4 edge in points in the paint and outrebonded the Bells 33-14 in the opening stanza.
Saint Mary's took advantage of Wheaton's ability to deepen the rotation in the second half to force 13 turnovers and account for the final 78-41 final score.
Ellie Zeller was 10-13 from the field for a game-high 24 points.
Hannah Considine (PICTURED RIGHT) recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Chantal Meacham paced the Thunder offense with four assists.
Sarah Drury added nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Wheaton will next be in action on Tuesday, November 18 when the Thunder host Clarke College in its home opener at 7 PM.
