PICTURED ABOVE: Katie McDaniels was named the MVP of the Beth Baker Classic after scored 23 points in Wheaton's win over Defiance on Saturday.

Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder women's basketball team moved its record to 3-0 on Saturday afternoon with a 79-63 victory over Defiance College in the 2015 Beth Baker Classic. After a back and forth first half, the Thunder opened the game up with a decisive 24-6 advantage in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Yellow Jackets fell to 0-3 with the loss. Wheaton's Katie McDaniels and Chantal Meacham were named to the All-Tournament Team with McDaniels earning Tournament MVP honors.

Wheaton struggled from the free throw line, making just six-of-15 (40%) attempts. The Thunder shot 44.7% (34-76) from the field and 5-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line. Defiance took advantage of their free throw opportunities, shooting 74.1% (20-27) from the charity stripe. The Yellow Jackets shot 34.7% (17-49) from the field and went nine-for-27 (33.3%) from the three-point line.

The first quarter saw a tightly contested affair with Wheaton opening up as much as a five point lead on a two occasions only to have the Yellow Jackets trim the deficit to 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. A lay-up by Katie McDaniesl and a later three-pointer by Chantal Meacham opened up a pair of eight-point leads in the second quarter for the Thunder but a late five-point spurt by Defiance cut the lead down to two points before a three-point play by Kelly Lawson (PICTURED RIGHT) gave Wheaton a 35-30 halftime edge. Lawson finished with a season-high 15 points for the Thunder


Seven straight points to start the third quarter gave Wheaton its first double-digit lead of the game and a Meacham three-pointer with 4:39 left to play in the third quarter pushed the Wheaton lead to 50-33. Layups by Sarah Drury and Ellie Zeller continued to surge and gave the hosts a 59-36 edge at the end of the third stanza.

Defiance shaved the lead down to 14 with a trio of three-pointers in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but Wheaton responded with a pair of Zeller jumpers around a McDaniels lay-up. Drury's lay-up with four minutes to play accounted for Wheaton's largest lead of the game at 76-51 as Wheaton cruised to the finish line.

Katie McDaniels led all scorers with 23 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Ellie Zeller scored 15 points, Kelly Lawson poured in 14 points and Chantal Meacham added 11 points. Sarah Drury led the Thunder with nine rebounds and six points. Kelsey Tietje led Defiance with 21 points and Sam Ervin grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Wheaton will next be in action on Tuesday, November 24, when the Thunder host the Hope College Flying Dutch at 7 PM in King Arena. Hope is ranked 11th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 while the Thunder are ranked eighth in the same poll.