BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder women's basketball team closed out the regular season on Tuesday night with a convincing 88-64 victory against North Park. Wheaton (16-9/11-3) will be the number-two in this weekend's CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament and will face third-seeded Carthage (17-8/9-5) at 6 PM in Friday's first semifinal. Friday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio at 88.1 FM in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org.

Friday's second game will feature top-seeded, and tournament host, Illinois Wesleyan (25-0/14-0) against fourth-seeded North Central (12-12/7-7). Friday's winners will play in the CCIW Tournament Championship game at 2 PM on Saturday, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Wheaton never trailed in tonight's contest. The Thunder held a 14-12 lead with 12:15 remaining in the first half when a Lisa Ballenger basket started a 21-6 Thunder run to extend Wheaton's lead to 17 points 35-18 with 6:15 left before halftime. The Thunder led 43-29 at halftime and the largest lead of the game was a 32-point bulge at 88-56 with 2:10 remaining in the game.

Wheaton received balanced offensive production as seven players scored eight points or more. Senior guard Kathleen Fidelia led the hosts with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Forward Jamie Jones scored 11 points, with eight rebounds and three assists. Freshmen Laura Karsten and Elisabeth Potts each scored 10 points. Lynnea Kvam and Ballenger each scored nine points. Senior center Whitney Edgecombe scored eight points and fellow senior Noelle Dryden collected six rebounds with three assists.

LaRae Kostreva led North Park with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. Larisa Coldebella scored 11 points and Amanda Phillips contributed 10 points, with five rebounds.

Wheaton shot 42.5% (31-73) from the field, with 37.5% from behind the three-point arc (9-24) and 65.4% (17-26) at the free throw line. North Park posted a 35.8% (24-67) field goal percentage, with 20% (3-15) from three-point range and 72.2% (13-18) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Vikings 51-41, with a 19-14 edge on the offensive glass.