Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team used clutch shooting from the free throw line in the final minutes to hold off North Park University 84-79 on Saturday.

The Thunder improved their record to 11-9 overall and 5-5 in conference play while the Vikings fell to 5-16 overall and 2-8 in the CCIW.

The first half was all about the Wheaton offense, which canned 6 of 10 three-pointers and shot 51 percent from the field. The Thunder went on a 21-7 run over the final five minutes to grab a commanding 51-30 advantage at halftime.

North Park, however, clawed back into the game. The Vikings were able to hit 51 percent of their shots in the second half and chipped away at the lead. Wheaton led 73-60 with about five minutes left when NPU made another late run by drawing fouls and hitting three-pointers to pull the game within one point in the final minute.

But an offensive foul by North Park gave Wheaton back the ball with 17 seconds left, still leading 78-77. Lindsey Brenneman and Brooke Olson then combined to hit 6 of 6 free throws in the final 17 seconds to preserve the victory.

Wheaton shot 24 of 60 from the field in the game (40 percent), including 6 of 18 from three-point range (33 percent) and 30 of 35 from the charity stripe (86 percent). Brenneman led the way with 24 points, Elisabeth Potts added 17 points and Kelly Brooks tallied 15 points off the bench.

North Park shot 26 of 54 (48 percent) from the field, going 7 of 16 (44 percent) from three-point range and 20 of 27 (74 percent) from the free-throw line. Kam Acree paced the Vikings with 22 points while Dana Christensen totaled 17 points.

The Thunder return to the court for a game at 7:30 PM on Tuesday at Augustana College.