Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton women's basketball team returned to action on Saturday afternoon with a non-conference matchup against No. 21 University of Chicago (8-2). Today's contest was the first game for the Thunder in 21 days as Wheaton returned to action following the Christmas break. The Maroons topped the Thunder 65-47 this afternoon.

Wheaton is now 4-7 this season. The Thunder return to action next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., in Decatur, Illinois at Millikin University.

The Maroons scored the first six points this afternoon to take a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest. Kate Oliver made a three-pointer with 6:42 left in the first quarter and then Grace Kizer made a layup on Wheaton's next possession and then Jenna Hunter contributed a layup to cap a 7-0 Thunder run to give the hosts a 7-6 advantage with 5:25 remaining in the opening quarter. The Maroons led 14-10 with 1:40 left in the quarter when Lauren Ham made a three-pointer and then Lily Caddow snagged a steal and drove to the basket to give the hosts a 15-14 lead, which was the score at the end of the first quarter.

Oliver's three-pointer to start Wheaton's scoring in the first quarter put her over the 1,000-point milestone for her career. Oliver (PICTURED LEFT) is the 23^rd Wheaton player in program history to surpass the milestone as she now sits with 1,006 points in her four seasons with the Thunder.

The Maroons' offensive output improved in the second quarter as the guests out-scored Wheaton 20-9 in the period. UChicago led the Thunder 34-24 at the halftime intermission. Hunter led Wheaton's first-half scoring with seven points. Hunter, Caddow and Oliver each had three rebounds in the first half to lead the Thunder. Annabelle Spotts led Chicago in the first half with 13 points, while Bri Simpson added 10 points for the guests. UChicago shot 50% (15-for-30) from the field in the first half, including 25% (2-for-8) from three-point range. The Thunder posted a 32.1% (9-for-28) field goal percentage, including 36.4% (4-for-11) behind the three-point arc.

The Maroons led 41-28 with 5:24 left in the third quarter Chloe Kostka drained the first of back-to-back three-pointers followed by a put-back basket for Hunter as the Thunder put together an 8-0 run to trim the guests' lead to 41-36 with 3:00 left in the third quarter. However, the guests closed out the quarter with a 9-2 run as the Maroons led 52-38 at the end of the third quarter.

UChicago out-scored Wheaton 13-9 in the fourth quarter. The Maroons' largest lead of the game was a 21-point bulge at 65-44 with 1:35 left in the game.

Hunter led Wheaton with 11 points today as she shot 5-for-10 (50%) from the field, adding five rebounds. Kostka was 3-for-6 from three-point range today as she scored nine points. Ham and Oliver each contributed seven points for the hosts as Oliver led the Thunder with six rebounds.

Spotts led the Maroons with 15 points, while Alexis Clark scored 14 points with five rebounds. Chris Sanders contributed 11 points. Kasi Samuda led UChicago with a game-high nine rebounds, while Kate Gross had a game-high four assists.

UChicago posted a 46.4% (26-for-56) field goal percentage today, including 29.4% (5-for-17) behind the three-point arc. The Thunder shot 31.1% (19-for-61) from the field, including 31.8% (7-for-22) from three-point range. Both teams shot 66.7% at the free throw line as UChicago had an 8-for-12 effort at the charity stripe and Wheaton was 2-for-3. UChicago out-rebounded the Thunder 46-28, including a 10-6 effort on the offensive glass. The Maroons' inside game played a key role today as UChicago out-scored Wheaton 34-16 in the paint.