The Dominican University women's basketball team suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling to the #16 Wheaton College Thunder, 66-54, at the Igini Sports Forum.  The loss drops the Stars to 4-1 on the season with a return to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play on deck with the Rockford University Regents visiting Dominican on Saturday for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff.
 
"This was definitely a game of runs," commented Amanda Parker, the Stars' second-year head coach, "and we could just not get over the hump. We struggled to capitalize on the offensive end, missing some good looks that could have gotten us into a better rhythm.  However, I'm ecstatic at the fight in our team—they did not back down from one of the top teams in not just the region, but the country. Wheaton is a phenomenal program with a winning tradition and they were the better team tonight. We will take a few days off and get back in the lab and continue to grind and get better. One loss does not define us and we still have a lot to accomplish this season."
 
The Stars shot a season-low .319 in the loss, going 22-for-69 from the field.  Dominican also managed to get to the foul line just five times, converting on four of five trips to the charity stripe.
 
Timiya Ray led Dominican with a game-high 20 points and pulled down ten boards for her third double-double of the season.
 
After the Thunder equaled their biggest lead of the night at 19, 59-40, with just under eight minutes to play, the Stars started to chip away when Alexis Hoskins completed a three-point play with 7:25 remaining.  After a jumper by Alisha Markley, Ray scored the Stars' next nine points, pulling Dominican within ten, 64-54, with three minutes remaining.
 
The Thunder managed to stop the run, escaping with the win.