PICTURED ABOVE: Katie McDaniels led Wheaton with 17 points, tying for the game-high in points.

Elmhurst, Ill. – Elmhurst College used a strong second half to rally and defeat the 15^th-ranked Wheaton women's basketball team 60-50 on Saturday night in a CCIW matchup. The Bluejays out-scored the Thunder 36-15 in the second half to rally for the win.

Wheaton is now 11-4 on the year and 3-2 in CCIW play. The Thunder will resume CCIW play on Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at Millikin University. Elmhurst improves to 9-7 this season with a 3-2 mark in conference play.

The two teams played a tightly contested first half. Wheaton led the Bluejays 13-11 at the end of the first period. Wheaton held a four-point lead at 25-21 with 4:15 left in the second quarter and utilized a 10-3 run to close out the first half. The Thunder surge helped Wheaton to a 35-24 lead at halftime.

A layup by Devin Kyler to open the scoring in the third quarter increased Wheaton's lead to 37-24 with 9:45 left in the period. The Bluejays out-scored the guests 14-3 for the remainder of the quarter as the hosts trimmed Wheaton's lead to 40-38 through three quarters.

Wheaton's Maggie Dansdill scored the opening bucket of the fourth quarter to increase Wheaton's lead to 42-38 with 9:09 left in regulation. A basket by Elmhurst's Courtney Spencer made it a 42-40 advantage for the Thunder and then Hannah Considine responded with a basket to increase Wheaton's lead to 44-40 with 8:18 left in the game.

Elmhurst led 46-44 with 5:17 remaining in the game when a layup by Wheaton junior Katie McDaniels tied the matchup at 46-46. Each team missed a scoring opportunity on their next possession and then Elmhurst's Hannah Lipman converted a layup with 4:28 left in the game to give the hosts a 48-46 lead. Elmhurst maintained a lead for the remainder of the game as Lipman's basket sparked a 14-4 run for the Bluejays to close out the game.

McDaniels led the Thunder with a team-high 17 points. The junior added three assists and two steals. Freshman Devin Kyler scored nine points with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Considine added eight points with two blocked shots for the Thunder. Dansdill scored seven points off of the Thunder bench.

Elmhurst's Kaela Jones led the hosts with 17 points. Michaela Kumer scored 14 points with 13 rebounds and three assists. Lipman tallied 13 points for the Bluejays.

The Thunder shot 63.6% (14-of-22) from the field in the first half and dropped to a 19.2% (5-of-26) field goal percentage in the second half. Wheaton shot 39.6% (19-of-48) from the floor for the game, including 23.1% (3-of-13) from three-point range. Elmhurst posted a 38.6% (22-of-57) field goal percentage, including 14.3% (2-of-14) from three-point range. Elmhurst shot 73.7% (14-of-19) at the free throw line tonight and Wheaton had a 50% (9-of-18) effort at the charity stripe. Elmhurst out-rebounded Wheaton 39-31, including a 13-9 edge on the offensive glass. Elmhurst's bench played a key role tonight as the Bluejays' reserves out-scored Wheaton's bench 27-9.