Wheaton, Ill. (11/21) – The Thunder women's basketball team accomplished a furious rally to defeat Olivet Nazarene 83-81 on Tuesday night in King Arena. Wheaton never led by more than two points in the game and only led for a total of one minute and 30-seconds, but held the 83-81 lead when the buzzer sounded to escape with the victory. Wheaton improves to 2-1 on the season and Olivet Nazarene is now 3-4 on the year. Wheaton will travel to Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Friday and compete at Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday.
The Tigers led Wheaton 52-37 at halftime. Olivet Nazarene's biggest lead of the game was a 19-point advantage at 70-51 with 9:30 left in the game. However a lay-up by Thunder senior Brittany Cooper sparked a tremendous rally that saw Wheaton out-score the Tigers 24-8 to cut the lead to 78-75 with 2:10 left in the game. Olivet Nazarene drained a three-pointer with 1:55 left in the game to increase its lead to 81-75; however, it would be the Tigers' final points of the game.
Thunder All-American Jill Trenz made a lay-up with 1:35 left in the game to cut Olivet Nazarene's lead to 81-77 and that was followed about 35 seconds later by a lay-up from freshman Sarah Jones (LEFT) to make it an 81-79 lead for the guests. Cooper made one of her two free throw attempts with 42-seconds left to cut the Tigers' lead to 81-80. With 22-seconds Wheaton drove to the basket and missed a shot, however, Cooper collected the rebound and put the ball back into the basket to give Wheaton an 82-81 lead, its first advantage since the first minute of the game. Olivet Nazarene turned the ball over on its next time down the court and Trenz was fouled following the turnover. The junior center hit one of her two free throw attempts, with two-seconds left in the game for an 83-81 lead. The Tigers turned the ball over as time expired and Wheaton escaped with the dramatic come-from-behind win.
Sophomore guard Kathleen Fidelia led the Thunder with 19 points, five assists, five rebounds and seven steals. Trenz added 15 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots. Jones played well with 13 points, four assists and four steals. Cooper contributed 13 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. Claire Glass collected a game-high 10 rebounds.
Hillary Disch scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Tigers. Kellie Mullin scored 14 points and Courtney Hehn added 12 points, with two steals.
Wheaton shot 50.7% (34-67) from the field, including 57.1% (20-35) in the second half. Wheaton had a 25% (1-4) three-point percentage, with 70% (14-20) from the free throw line. Olivet Nazarene shot 33.8% (24-71) from the field, with 26.8% (11-41) from three-point range and 71% (22-31) from the free throw line. The Tigers out-rebounded Wheaton 49-41, with a 19-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Thunder out-scored Olivet Nazarene 54-26 in the paint.
