ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst women's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the season after falling 71-53 to 19th-ranked Wheaton College in both team's CCIW opening contest.
 
Wheaton (5-1, 1-0 CCIW) outscored Elmhurst (6-1, 0-1 CCIW) 47-23 over the second and third quarter to blow the game open en route to the 18-point victory.
 
The game was even after the first 10 minutes of action as the Bluejays matched the Thunder for the entire first quarter. The Bluejays went in front 15-13 to start the second quarter on a Kaela Jones jumper. Wheaton took over for the next seven minutes, ripping off a 20-2 run sparked by four three-pointers. Wheaton led 35-17 with just under three minutes left in the half and the Thunder carried a 38-23 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
Wheaton continued to pull away in the third quarter. The Thunder opened play with a 14-2 run to take a commanding 52-25 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. Elmhurst came no closer than 18 points for the duration of the game as the Thunder scored the conference-opening victory.
 
Elmhurst shot just 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the floor and struggled from long range, hitting just 4-of-20 attempts (20.0 percent) from three-point range. Wheaton shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field, including 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc. The Thunder outscored Elmhurst in the paint 40-30 and finished the game with a 41-29 advantage on the glass.
 
Kalia Summerlin led Elmhurst in the loss with a 12 points, knocking down 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Mikaela Eppeard added 10 points and five rebounds while Lisa Logan and Michaela Kumer scored seven points apiece.
 
Katie McDaniels carried Wheaton in the victory, pouring in 27 points while shooting 11-of-14 from the floor. She added six rebounds and three assists in the win. Kelly Lawson added 15 points while Kelly Thornton came off the bench to score nine for the Thunder.
 
Elmhurst hosts Augustana on Wednesday, December 7.