PICTURED ABOVE: Kelly Lawson led the Thunder with 13 points.

Bloomington, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan edged the Wheaton Thunder (22-5) women's basketball team 62-60 tonight in the CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament Championship Game. The Titans (24-3) earn the conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.

Senior Kelly Lawson led the Thunder with 13 points tonight. Devin Kyler (PICTURED LEFT) tallied a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Senior Maggie Dansdill added 10 points with seven rebounds. Sophomore Hannah Frazier scored nine points with six rebounds.

The Titans controlled play early as Illinois Wesleyan led 12-6 at the conclusion of the first quarter. The Thunder put together a strong second quarter, out-scoring IWU 18-10. Jill Berg's jumper in the final minute of the first half gave Wheaton a 24-22 lead that would stand as the halftime score.

The matchup was tied 26-26 with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter when six unanswered Thunder points gave Wheaton a 32-26 lead with 6:28 left in the quarter. The Titans responded with an 11-4 run over a span of 4:30 to give the hosts a 37-36 lead with 2:00 left in the quarter. The Titans led 40-39 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

A three-pointer by Kelly Lawson and a traditional three-point play by Hannah Frazier accounted for a 47-40 Thunder lead with 8:20 remaining in regulation. The Titans chipped away at Wheaton's lead to cut the Thunder advantage to 54-53 with 4:45 remaining in the matchup.

A basket and free throw by Maggie Dansdill (PICTURED RIGHT) increased Wheaton's lead to 57-53 with 3:47 left in the matchup. A pair of Titan free throws were followed by a jumper for IWU's Nina Anderson to tie the game at 57-57 with 1:50 remaining in the game. The hosts' Rebekah Ehresman made a pair of free throws with 1:15 left in the game to give the Titans a 59-57 advantage. Wheaton missed a three-pointer on its next possession and the Titans were fouled with 16-seconds left in the contest, making both free throws to increase the hosts' lead to 61-57. Kyler made a three-pointer with two seconds left to cut the lead to 61-60. IWU made one of two free throws in the final second and emerged with the 62-60 victory.

Wheaton registered a 45.1% (23-of-51) field goal percentage, including 33.3% (7-of-21) from three-point range. The Titans shot 37.5% (21-of-56) from the floor, including 16.7% (2-of-12) behind the three-point arc. The Thunder shot 53.8% (7-of-13) at the free throw line and the Titans had a 69.2% (18-for-26) effort at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the hosts 39-34 and the Titans had a 12-10 edge on the offensive glass.

Wheaton (22-5) is a strong candidate for an at-large bid to next week's NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament when pairings are announced on Monday. The tournament's selection show will be at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Monday at ncaa.com.

Note Worthy: Lawson's 13 points tonight gives her 965 career points as she moved into 22nd on Wheaton's career scoring list...Jill Berg's five blocked shots tonight moves her into sixth place on Wheaton's career blocked shots list with 107...Wheaton's 16-game win streak is the longest single-season winning streak in program history and the second-longest overall streak for the women's basketball program.