Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder women's basketball team returned to King Arena on Saturday afternoon and defeated Elmhurst University 69-54. Wheaton controlled today's contest for a majority of the matchup, leading the Bluejays for more than 34 minutes of the 40-minute conference contest. Wheaton is now 4-1 on the season (4-1 CCIW) and Elmhurst falls to 1-4 overall (1-4 CCIW).

Junior Hannah Swider led the Thunder with 14 points as she shot 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore Zoe Nordling scored a career-high 11 points off the Thunder bench with six rebounds. Ellie Cassel grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds today, including six offensive boards. Cassel scored nine points and blocked four shots, with two assists. Senior Hannah Williams tallied nine points with three assists. Annie Tate scored eight points, with four rebounds and two assists. Lily Schwen scored seven points. Ana Mooney scored six points off the Thunder, shooting 3-of-4 from the field.

The Thunder shot 43.1% (25-of-58) from the field today, including 35.7% (5-of-14) from three-point range. The Bluejays posted a 34.5% (20-of-58) field goal percentage, including 27.8% (5-of-18) behind the three-point arc. Wheaton shot 70% (14-of-20) at the free throw line and the Bluejays had an 81.1% (9-of-11) effort at the free throw line. Led by Cassel's effort on the glass, Wheaton out-rebounded Elmhurst 43-31, including a 16-11 edge on the offensive boards for the Thunder.

The Bluejays led early, including an 8-4 advantage for the guests with 4:40 remaining in the first quarter. Wheaton closed out the quarter with an 11-4 run to lead 15-8 at the end of the opening quarter. Wheaton's largest lead of the first half was its 11-point advantage at 31-20 to end the second quarter. Nordling hit a basket as time expired for halftime to give the hosts the 11-point bulge.

Wheaton led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter with a 47-30 lead when Swider drained a three-pointer with 3:36 left in the third. The Thunder held a 54-40 lead at the end of the third quarter. Swider scored eight points in the quarter, making a pair of three-pointer with four rebounds.

The largest lead of the game was a 19-point advantage for the Thunder that occurred twice in the fourth quarter. The final instance was 69-50 Wheaton advantage with 1:24 left in the game.

Courtney O'Donnell led the Bluejays with 13 points and four rebounds. Marissa Urso scored 12 points with six rebounds and four assists. Elena Cabrera scored 10 points with two assists.

Wheaton travels to North Park Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff with the Vikings. Tuesday's game is the first of three next week for the Thunder as Wheaton travels to Carthage next Thursday for a contest at 7:00 p.m. and Wheaton hosts Carthage next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.