PICTURED ABOVE: Lauren Graham (LEFT) scored 11 points with six rebounds off the Wheaton bench and Katie McDaniels scored a team-high 24 points, with nine rebounds and six assists.

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder women's basketball team defeated Millikin 78-66 on Wednesday night in King Arena. Wheaton is now 15-2 on the season and tied for first in the CCIW standings with a 5-1 record in conference play. The Thunder, ranked 16th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, will host Carthage at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
 
A basket by Wheaton's Lauren Graham with 12:55 remaining in the first half broke a 14-14 tie and was the start of an 11-2 run that gave the Thunder a nine-point lead at 25-16. Wheaton's largest lead of the first half was the 15-point advantage of 43-28 at halftime.
 
The Big Blue chipped away at Wheaton's lead to cut the Thunder advantage to 55-50 with 9:25 remaining in regulation. However, back-to-back three-pointers by Chantal Meacham (PICTURED LEFT) and Graham increased Wheaton's advantage to 61-50 with 8:55 remaining in regulation. The Thunder maintained a double-digit much of the remainder of the game.
 
Sophomore Katie McDaniels led the Thunder with 24 points. She also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, with six assists and three steals. Ellie Zeller (PICTURED RIGHT) contributed 16 points, with seven assists. Meacham made five three-pointers as she scored 15 points, with four assists and four steals. Graham contributed 11 points off the Wheaton bench with six rebounds.
 
Wheaton posted a 45.9% (28-for-61) field goal percentage, including 40.9% (9-for-22) from three-point range. The Thunder shot 59.1% (13-of-22) at the free throw line. Millikin out-rebounded the Thunder 40-38, including a 12-11 edge on the offensive glass. The Big Blue shot 38.3% (23-for-60) from the field, with 11.8% (2-of-17) from three-point range and 81.8% (18-for-22) at the charity stripe.
 
Alyssa Saklak led Millikin with a game-high 26 points, four assists and four steals. Kelsey Going contributed 13 points and six rebounds off the Big Blue bench. Hannah Millington scored seven points, with five rebounds and three assists. Holly Haskins tallied seven points, with six rebounds.