PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University women's basketball team staged a second-half rally to throw a scare into Wheaton (Ill.) College, but the nationally ranked Thunder pulled away late to top the Muskies 61-50 Tuesday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

Lakeland chipped a 17-point deficit down to four points late in the third quarter before succumbing to the team ranked 11th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Preseason Poll. The Muskies dropped to 1-2 on the season while Wheaton improved to 4-0.

Lakeland played its second ranked opponent in three games and fared considerably better than a 39-point loss to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on the road in its season opener. The Muskies put together a plenty respectable effort against Wheaton, even with a cold shooting performance from the field and the free throw line.

Lakeland shot 26.2% from the field, making 16 of 61 shots, and made 13 of 25 (52.0%) from the free throw line. The Muskies stayed in the game by holding Wheaton to 33.3% shooting in the second half, battling the taller Thunder on the boards, and also received a career-high 16 points from Kerstin Sauerbrei (So.-Ripon, Wis.), who hit five three-pointers.

Wheaton took the lead less than four minutes into the game and never trailed again, and appeared firmly in charge in the second quarter when building a 32-15 lead. The Thunder had overcome a slow start in the game's early minutes to make 14 of their first 28 shots (50.0%), and even after a cold spell to finish the half the guests still led 35-21 at halftime.

Lakeland would work back into the game in the third quarter, first slowly, then with a late burst. The Muskies held Wheaton to just four points over a span of more than eight minutes, got within nine midway through the quarter, and then suddenly made it a four-point game when Sauerbrei hit back-to-back three-pointers, the second making it 41-37 with 51 seconds left in the period.

The Thunder answered in a big way the next time down when Hannah Swider drained a big three-pointer of her own to push the lead back to seven just before the end of the quarter. Wheaton then held Lakeland to just two points in the first 3 minutes, 47 seconds of the fourth quarter, nudging the lead back up to 11 when Swider's jumper made it 50-39 with 6:30 to play. Lakeland would never get closer than nine again, and the Thunder put the game away with five points in a row late capped by a runner by Lily Schwen making it 59-45 with just over two minutes left.

Sauerbrei made 5 of 8 three-point tries and Brianna Jones (Jr.-Indianapolis, Ind.) also scored 10 points and added eight rebounds. Kacey Gardner (Sr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) also added eight points and six rebounds. The Muskies also finished with 15 offensive rebounds as a team and were outrebounded 49-43 after the Thunder posted a 16-5 advantage on the glass in the final quarter.

All-America candidate Annie Tate led Wheaton with 21 points and 12 rebounds but had to work for her points, making 8 of 17 from the field. Swider also added 15 points and Ellie Cassel finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Thunder finished shooting 38.3% (23 of 60) and also struggled at the free throw line, making 12 of 22 (54.5%).

Lakeland is on the road for its next game Thursday when it travels to Carlinville, Ill., to face Blackburn (Ill.) College for a 7 p.m. tip.