GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Brooke Olson scored a game-high 25 points with six three-pointers.

Wheaton, Ill. - Brooke Olson's offensive outburst from beyond the arc helped the Wheaton College women's basketball to a thrilling 76-74 double overtime victory over Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday.
 
The Thunder improve to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in CCIW games. The No. 22-ranked Titans (14-5, 7-1 CCIW) had its 15-game win streak against conference opponents snapped.
 
“When you play Illinois Wesleyan, you know it's a big game because they've been the leader in our conference for the past four years,” Wheaton head coach Kent Madsen said. “What I'm really pleased with is the gutty performance the entire team had… Everybody was just giving it all they had.”
 
The two teams were neck-and-neck down the second-half stretch. Olson was the key for Wheaton's offense, as the point guard scored 12 straight points. The junior's three treys and three free throws answered every IWU score, with her last three-pointer putting Wheaton up 57-56.
 
With less than a minute to go, Britt Hasselbring made a pair of free throws to give the Titans a one-point lead. Laura Karsten then nailed a three with 19 seconds left to put Wheaton up again. But two more free throws from Hasselbring forced overtime after Wheaton's last shot at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
The first overtime saw the Thunder with a four-point advantage early. However, IWU's leading scorer Olivia Lett used her dribble penetration to tally eight points in the extra period to give her team the lead. Once again, Wheaton turned to Olson, who drove the lane on an isolation and laid it in with seven seconds left to tie the game. Lett tried to bank in a running jumper from the right side as time expired, but the ball bounced in and out to force a second overtime knotted at 68-68.
 
The second overtime was equally close. Wheaton tied the score with 40 seconds left on a Lauren Graham free throw. Her second shot missed, but Elisabeth Potts streaked in to grab the offensive rebound and draw Lett's fifth foul.
 
Down two points with nine second left, Hasselbring put in a runner off the glass for the Titans. But the basket was waved off on a charging call to keep Wheaton up 76-74. Wheaton's ensuing possession resulted in a turnover on the inbounds pass. With the final possession in hand, IWU lost control of the ball in the backcourt, forcing the Titans to heave a desperation three that hit the front iron to clinch the Wheaton victory.
 
The visitors started the game with a 9-0 lead that was soon erased by a Wheaton run that tied the score at 12. The Thunder finished the half on a 10-2 run that gave them a 32-24 advantage going into the locker room. IWU eventually came back to tie the score 36-36 six minutes into the second half.
 
Olson led Wheaton's offense with 25 points thanks in large part to hitting 6 of 12 from three-point range. She added four assists and six rebounds on the night. Breanna Bohlen (PICTURED RIGHT) netted 11 points off the bench with three treys to her credit. Potts notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Karsten chipped in a well-rounded effort of eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
 
“The nice thing about it is Brooke attacked the basket really well tonight,” Madsen said. “But she then obviously hit some huge threes at different times of the game. You look at the performances of our players tonight, and we didn't shoot a phenomenal percentage. But what we did hit were timely shots... We gutted out some defensive stands at crucial times as well. There's no doubt Brooke played a big role in tonight's victory. The nice thing about our team is that on any given night, any one of those players can step up and have a big game.”
 
The Thunder shot 26 of 73 from the field (35.6 percent), 12 of 33 from long range (36.4 percent) and 12 of 19 from the charity stripe (63.2 percent).
 
IWU ended up hitting 25 of 72 from the field (34.7 percent), 7 of 18 from beyond the arc (38.9 percent) and 17 of 18 free throws (94.4 percent). Lett paced the Titans with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Melissa Gardner tallied 15 points.
 
Wheaton's next game will occur at Millikin University at 7:30 PM on Wednesday.