Dubuque, Iowa – The Wheaton Thunder women's basketball team extended its win streak to four games on Saturday afternoon with a 67-64 victory at Loras College. Today's victory improves Wheaton to 7-1 on the year, while Loras falls to 4-4 on the season.
Loras jumped out to a 10-point lead early in today's matchup as the Duhawks led 15-5 with 5:30 left. Thunder sophomore Jennifer Berg responded with a three-pointer with 4:00 remaining in the opening quarter to start an 11-0 run for the Thunder to close out the quarter. The impressive Thunder scoring run saw three-pointers by Berg and Katie McDaniels along with five points by sophomore Kelly Lawson. The Thunder led 16-15 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
Wheaton gradually increased its advantage over the first four minutes of the second quarter to take a 31-23 lead. Loras responded with an 11-3 run to tie the matchup at 34-34 with 15 seconds left in the second quarter. McDaniels was fouled with four seconds left in the quarter and she made both free throws that allowed Wheaton to hold a 36-34 lead at halftime.
The Thunder led 40-39 with 6:55 left in the third quarter when Berg made the first of two back-to-back three-pointers that was followed by a Devin Kyler layup and Chantal Meacham three-pointer in an 11-3 run for the Thunder to increase the hosts' lead to 51-42 with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter. Wheaton led 51-44 at the end of the third quarter.
The Thunder led 56-46 with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Duhawks quickly responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 56-56 with 6:05 remaining in the game. Loras' Lauren Stanich scored a layup to give the hosts a 58-56 lead, but Meacham responded with a basket to tie the matchup at 58-58 with 5:00 remaining in the game. A McDaniels layup was answered by a basket for the Duhawks' Miranda Chapman for a 60-60 tie with 3:25 left in regulation.
Thunder senior Ellie Zeller made a layup and was fouled and converted the free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play to give Wheaton a 63-60 lead with 3:00 left in the game. Loras' Lori Obendorf drove to the basket for a layup that cut Wheaton's lead to 63-62 with 2:15 remaining in the contest. Both teams missed scoring opportunities over the next 1:40 until Loras' Terese McMahon was fouled on a drive to the basket and made both free throws to give the Duhawks a 64-63 lead with 24-seconds remaining in the game.
McDaniels drove to the basket and made a layup for the Thunder with 11-seconds left to give Wheaton a 65-64 lead. On Loras' next offensive play McDaniels stripped the ball from Loras' Megan Jones and McDaniels was immediately fouled. The Thunder All-American made both free throws to secure the 67-64 victory for the guests.
McDaniels led the Thunder with 24 points in the game as she shot 8-of-12 from the field. The junior scored 16 of her game-high 24 points in the first half of the matchup and she tallied eight points in the critical fourth quarter. She also distributed four assists and had three steals, including the key steal at the end of the game.
Meacham scored 14 points for Wheaton as she sank four three-pointers. Berg scored nine points in the contest, with three baskets behind the three-point arc.
McMahon led Loras with 15 points and Obedorf added 14 points with 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. Kat Cabrera scored 11 points with four assists for the hosts.
Wheaton shot 44.4% (24-for-54) from the field, including 50% (9-of-18) from three-point range. The Thunder shot 63.5% (10-of-16) from free throw line and Loras had an effort of 57.1% (8-of-14) at the charity stripe. The Duhawks posted a 41% (25-of-61) field goal percentage, including 33.3% (6-of-18) behind the three-point arc. Loras out-rebounded the Thunder 43-29, including a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Wheaton, ranked 10th in both the WBCA Division III and D3hoops.com Top-25 polls, will be off until December 29 and 30 when the squad returns to action at the Wartburg Holiday Tournament. The Thunder will face seventh-ranked University of St. Thomas in the opening round of the tournament at 3:00 p.m. on December 29.