BOXSCORE

Naperville, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team ran its win streak to five games and stayed undefeated in conference play with 72-59 victory at North Central College on Saturday.

The Thunder improved to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the CCIW. The Cardinals fell to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in conference.

The hosts took the early lead 11-5 in the first six minutes of the game. Lindsey Brenneman then hit a three-pointer and Wheaton regained the lead over the next four-and-a-half minutes to make it 14-13. A three-pointer from Brooke Olson in the final 10 seconds of the half gave the visitors a 33-29 halftime lead.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair all the way through as each team alternated scores. North Central actually retook the lead with 9:28 left in the game. Wheaton recovered effectively and went on a 16-5 run to build the lead back to double digits. But the Cardinals whittled that lead back down to two points with 4:10 left in the game. However, another 10-0 spurt by the Thunder put the game out of reach for good.

Brenneman was the leading scorer in the game with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field to go with four assists. Olson and Laura Karsten added 12 points each, with Olson also tallying six assists.

The Thunder ended up shooting 28 of 60 from the field (46.7 percent), 8 of 19 from the three-point arc (42.1 percent) and 8 of 11 from the free throw line (72.7 percent).

The Cardinals held a 38-28 rebounding edge as Sophie Newson scored 11 points with eight rebounds and Jackie Errico added nine points and six rebounds. North Central shot 24 of 56 from the field (42.9 percent), 5 of 18 from beyond the arc (27.8 percent), and 6 of 9 from the charity stripe (66.7 percent).

Wheaton returns to CCIW action at Augustana College for a 7:30 PM start on Tuesday.