WHEATON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team dug themselves out of a 16-6 hole at the end of the first quarter, but could not find enough points down the stretch in a 72-66 road loss at No. 17-ranked Wheaton at King Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

IWU fell to 6-7 overall on the season and is now 1-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Thunder snapped a two-game skid to improve to 9-3 and 1-1 in the CCIW.

With points hard to come by in the first quarter, the Titans outscored Wheaton 23-15 in the second quarter to take a 32-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. Both teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter with no team building more than a three point lead with Illinois Wesleyan leading 50-49 heading into the fourth. Wheaton jumped out to a five point lead following a 6-0 run to start the final period of action, building a 57-50 lead with 8:16 left in the game. IWU would battle back within 61-59 with 3:17 to go, but would get no closer as Wheaton would hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with the six point victory.

Four Titans wound up in double figures led by junior Gabby Weber and sophomore Molly McGraw with 12 points each. Amanda Kelly finished with a season high 10 points and added three rebounds while sophomore Rebekah Ehresman finished one rebound shy of a double double finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Wheaton was led by junior guard Katie McDaniels who scored a game-high 19 points and seven assists while playing 39 of the 40 minutes.

The Titans outrebounded the Thunder 27-25, but were did in by a 20-6 deficit in second chance points. IWU scored 14 points off of 13 Wheaton turnovers while the Thunder turned 20 Titan turnovers into 10 points.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan returns home to square off with Carthage College at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9. The Lady Reds dropped a 69-52 decision at North Park on Wednesday night and have won three straight against the Titans dating back to the 2013-14 season.