Waverly, Iowa – The Thunder women's basketball team dropped a 75-69 decision at Wartburg College in the championship game of the 2015 Wartburg Holiday Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. Wheaton, ranked eighth in the most recent D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, is now 8-2 on the year and Wartburg improves to 10-1 on the season.

The Knights led 32-31 at the halftime intermission. Wartburg held a 48-44 lead with 2:20 left in the third quarter when the Knights closed out the quarter with a 9-3 run to give the hosts a 57-47 lead at the conclusion of the third quarter.

The Knights continued to maintain a double-digit lead at 64-53 with 7:20 left in regulation. The Thunder responded with nine unanswered points to cut the Wartburg lead to 64-62 with 4:30 left in the game.  A layup by Wheaton's Devin Kyler tied the matchup at 66-66 with 2:25 remaining in the game and Chantal Meacham drained a three-pointer to give the Thunder a 69-66 lead with 1:45 left in regulation. Meacham's basket was Wheaton's final points of the game as the Knights responded with the final nine points of the game to earn the 75-69 win over the Thunder.

Kyler, an all-tournament selection, led the Thunder with 14 points and she added four steals with two assists. Katie McDaniels (PICTURED LEFT) also earned all-tournament recognition with 11 points, two assists and two steals. Senior Hannah Considine scored 11 points with 10 rebounds and four assists. Meacham made three three-pointers to score nine points on the day with three assists. Kelly Lawson contributed eight points with four assists and two steals and NatalieRose Brogan tallied six points.

Bobbie Burrows led the Knights with 17 points and Kristie Sommer registered 15 points for the hosts. Kailey Kladivo scored 11 points and Morgan Neuendorf contributed 16 points.

Wheaton posted a 46.7% (28-for-60) field goal percentage, including 40% (10-of-25) from three-point range. The Knights shot 43.6% (24-for-55) from the floor, with a 52% (13-of-25) field goal percentage. Wheaton shot 50% (3-of-6) from the free throw line and Wartburg posted a 70% (14-for-20) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Knights 36-33, with a 10-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Thunder had a strong effort inside, out-scoring the Knights 30-12 in the paint today.