Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder women's basketball, ranked ninth in this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, earned an 83-74 win against University of Dubuque on Friday night in King Arena. Wheaton (8-1) will return to action on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. tipoff at Illinois Institute of Technology.
 
Wheaton jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Spartans put together an 11-2 run to trim Wheaton's lead to 16-15 with 12:55 left in the first half.  The Thunder then responded with 13 unanswered points to increase the lead to 29-14 with 9:40 left in the opening half. The strong surge helped lead the hosts to a 38-23 lead at the halftime intermission.

Wheaton built up its largest lead in the second half when the Thunder owned a 27-point advantage at 60-33 with 12:06 left in the game. The hosts continued to maintain a lead of 20 or more points until there was about 5:30 left in regulation. The Spartans used three-pointers and pressing defense in the final five minutes to cut Wheaton's lead to single digits, but the guests could get no closer than an eight-point defense.
 
Thunder junior Ellie Zeller led Wheaton with a game-high 25 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field with a 3-for-3 effort behind the three-point arc. Zeller also grabbed 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Katie McDaniels scored 15 points off the Thunder bench and she added seven rebounds, with four assists. Junior Hannah Considine (PICTURED RIGHT) scored 14 points, with eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Guards Moriah Reeves and Chantal Meacham each scored eight points for the hosts. Meacham also grabbed five rebounds and distributed a team-high five assists.

The Thunder posted a 37.5% (24-of-64) field goal percentage, with 28.6% (6-of-21) from three-point range and 85.3% (29-for-34) at the free throw line. The Spartans shot 36.5% (23-of-63) from the floor, with 50% (10-for-20) and 78.3% (18-for-23) at the charity stripe. Wheaton dominated on the glass as the Thunder out-rebounded the Spartans 53-31, including a 21-10 edge on the offensive glass that helped the hosts to an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Jenna Kotas led the Spartans with 19 points and she added six rebounds. Kayla Springer contributed 17 points with six rebounds for the guests. Emily Brinker added 10 points off of the Dubuque bench.