PICTURED ABOVE: Hannah Considine led Wheaton with 15 points and six rebounds in Wheaton's 72-42 season-opening victory at Aurora.

Aurora, Ill. - The Thunder women's basketball team opened its 2015-16 campaign with a resounding 72-42 victory at Aurora on Tuesday night. Ranked eighth in the D3hoops.com poll, the Thunder used an 11-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to open up a double-digit lead and never looked back. Wheaton saw all 16 players score or grab a rebound in the win. Wheaton will host Saint Mary's (Ind.) at 3 PM on Friday in its home opener as part of the Beth Baker Classic.

The Thunder shot 41.5% (27-65) from the field despite hitting only two of their 12 three-point attempts. Wheaton also struggled from the free throw line, making 18-of-28 attempts for a 57.1% clip. Wheaton did hold Aurora to just 20.8% (11-53) from the field and 25% (6-24) from the three-point line. The Spartans converted on 14 of their 21 free throw attempts. Wheaton outrebounded Aurora 48-39 including a 19-16 edge in offensive boards.

The visitors jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minute and a half but the Spartans bounced back to tie the score at 4-4. An Ellie Zeller jumper broke the tie and sent Wheaton on an 11-0 run that opened up a 15-4 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. Devin Kyler scored the last four points of the quarter including a jumper that beat the buzzer to give Wheaton a 26-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Wheaton's lead held steady throughout the second quarter but a three-pointer by Zeller and a last-second lay-up gave Wheaton its biggest lead of the night at 18 points.

Wheaton outscored the Spartans 20-3 in points off of turnovers in the first half as Wheaton forced 25 turnovers in the game.

An early lay-up by Considine pushed the lead over 20 points for the first time in the game but the lead swung back and forth around the 20-point margin before Keisha Clousing's lay-up gave Wheaton a 58-38 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Thunder held Aurora to just four points in the final ten-minute quarter and pushed the lead to the final spread of 72-42 on a jumper by Mel Bremhorst in the final minute.

Hannah Considine led the Thunder with 15 points and added six rebounds. Ellie Zeller added 14 points. Sarah Drury (PICTURED RIGHT) led Wheaton with seven rebounds to go with nine points. Katie McDaniels stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and three steals.  Bethany Dorrington recorded a double-double with game highs in points (20) and rebounds (10) to lead the Spartans.

Wheaton will host the Saint Mary's College (Ind.) Belles at 3 PM on Friday afternoon in its home opener. The Thunder will also face Defiance College at 3 PM on Saturday as part of the 2015 Beth Baker Classic.