Wheaton, Ill. - A dominant defensive effort got Wheaton off to a big early lead and the Thunder never looked back in a 61-39 victory over Augustana on Wednesday night. The victory avenged Wheaton's lone CCIW loss this season. Wheaton, ranked 24th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 and 25th by the WBCA, improves to 19-4 overall and 13-1 in the CCIW. The Thunder can clinch at least a share of the CCIW Championship with a victory at North Central (5 pm). The loss drops the Vikings to 12-11 overall and 6-8 in the CCIW.

Wheaton held the Vikings to just one field goal over the first 16 minutes of play including no baskets until there were just 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Vikings shot just 31.5% (17-54) from the field and 23.5% (4-17) from beyond the arc. Augustana shot only four free throws, making one. The 39 points allowed marked the second time this season Wheaton has held an opponent below 40 points and it is the lowest scoring total of the season for the Vikings. Wheaton shot 42.6% *23-54) from the field and 30.4% (7-23) from the three-point line while making eight-of-10 free throw attempts. Wheaton held a 41-29 advantage on the glass.

The first quarter saw both teams struggle to find offense with Wheaton managing three-pointers by Kristi Demski and Hannah Frazier as their only two field goals over the first seven minutes of the first quarter. A three-point play by Frazier and a Demski jumper accounted for all of Wheaton's remaining first quarter offense. Meanwhile, the Thunder held Augustana to an 0-for-12 start from the field, shutting out the Vikings for 9:30 until a lay-up by Izzy Anderson with 30 seconds left in the quarter finally got the visitors on the board. Augustana's field goal drought started anew in the second quarter, with the Thunder holding the Vikings without a field goal for the first 6:39 of the second quarter while building a 20-3 lead following a jumper by Jordan Myroth. An Alexis Jones jumper with 3:21 left in the half marked the first second quarter field goal for the Vikings, but also started a 10-2 run that brought them back to within nine on an Anderson three-pointer two minutes later. Kirsten Madsen stopped the run with a three-pointer in the final minute, staking Wheaton to a 25-15 halftime advantage.

Augustana continued its push early in the third quarter, scoring the first five points of the second half to pull within 25-20 less than a minute and a half into the third quarter. Following a Wheaton timeout, Jordan Myroth's lay-up started 12-4 Thunder run that pushed the lead back to 37-24 on another Madsen three-pointer with 3:25 left in the third. A three-pointer in the final minute of the half narrowed Wheaton's lead to eight but Frazier answered with a three in the final seconds of the half to give Wheaotn a 42-31 advantage after three quarters.

Lay-ups by Myroth and Kyler pushed the lead back to 15 points to start the fourth quarter and a 9-0 run through the middle of the quarter finally put the game away as Wheaton led by as many as 24 down the stretch while coasting to the 61-39 victory.

Hannah Frazier led all players in scoring (20 points) and rebounding (10 rebounds) to record her seventh 'double-double' of the season while also adding four blocks. Jordan Myroth finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Kirsten Madsen scored nine points and Devin Kyler tallied five points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. Izzy Anderson led the Vikings with 15 points.