Redlands, Calif. -- It may not have been the easiest or most straightforward game they play all season, but the Wheaton women's basketball team rose to meet the challenge on Saturday evening and emerged with another double-digit win in the Redlands University Tip-Off Classic. The Thunder's 69-57 decision over the tournament namesakes extends their perfect record to 6-0 and caps their California trip in impressive fashion. 

Once again, junior guard Annie Tate was the leading scorer in the game, claiming 22 points in tonight's contest. She went 7-8 on free throw attempts and finished one rebound short of another double-double. Ellie Cassel and Hannah Swider both contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Cassel added three assists and two blocks in a solid all-around performance, and Swider came away with a pair of steals. Caylee Hermanson was the fourth Thunder player to reach double digits in the game, earning ten points while also adding seven rebounds and three assists. Lily Schwen scored four, collected six rebounds, and led the team with five assists. Caroline Sikkink was Wheaton's top performer off the bench, picking up six points and four rebounds. 

The team stats were almost entirely in the Thunder's favor, as the visitors from Chicagoland out-shot their California hosts by a 39.1% - 36.7% edge. Wheaton's three-point percentage improved notably from yesterday's win over Chapman, as the team hit five to post a 29.4% mark from beyond the arc. The orange and blue finished a clinical 14-18 from the charity stripe, good for a 78% clip. Wheaton held slim advantages in the points in the paint and second chance points categories, 20-16 and 6-3, respectively. Substitutes for each side combined for nine total points, but the Thunder were most successful in the points off of turnovers measure, taking that statistic 15-5 over the Bulldogs.

The end result may have been a positive one, but Wheaton got off to a slow start on Saturday, falling behind 6-0 before an Ellie Cassel jumper finally put the Thunder on the scoreboard at the 6:46 mark of the first quarter. Two layups from Annie Tate tied the score at six apiece, before a Caylee Hermanson layup completed the visitors' early comeback in the span of just 70 seconds. In the closing minutes of the first quarter, Annie Tate and Annika Richardson drained well-timed three-pointers to give the Thunder a 14-10 advantage at the end of the period.

The two sides struggled to sustain any momentum in the early stages of the second quarter, trading baskets back and forth before a Redlands layup cut Wheaton's lead down to one at the 5:41 mark. The Bulldogs quickly followed this up with a successful jumper and three-pointer to regain the lead at 22-19, before another see-saw stretch ensued. A triple from the home team with 1:20 remaining in the half gave Redlands a 29-27 edge, but two Tate free-throws knotted the score up heading into the halftime break.

Wheaton's most difficult passage of play came at the start of the second half, as the Thunder struggled to hit shots from the open floor and Redlands began to see their attempts drop. The Bulldogs mounted a 9-2 run to seize a 38-31 lead three minutes into the period, but consecutive baskets from Tate, Cassel, and Swider brought Wheaton back into the contest. Another Cassel jumper capped off a 10-3 stretch for the Thunder and tied the game at 41, but the Bulldogs responded by rattling off seven points of their own to end the quarter. Heading into the decisive period, the Thunder faced a 48-41 deficit.

Fortunately, Wheaton saved their best for last. Five critical points from the senior Swider in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter allowed Wheaton to claw back to 52-48. As the clock approached the midway point, a free throw backed up by a three-pointer from Hermanson gave the Thunder their first lead since the 9:30 mark of the third quarter. Hannah Swider soon added to the momentum swing by knocking down another triple, and from this score onward, the visiting team never trailed again. The Bulldogs suddenly went ice cold from the floor in the face of increased defensive pressure from their opponents. Before too long, Redlands had to resort to fouling Wheaton, and Annie Tate, Lily Schwen, and Swider all made their free throws down the stretch to increase Wheaton's margin of victory and help the Thunder walk out of the Redlands Classic with two double-digit wins in as many nights.   

After a pair of ideal results on their West Coast adventure, attention turns back home for the Thunder as the team prepares for another nonconference clash on Tuesday evening. This time, their opponents are the Stars of Dominican University, and Wheaton will be looking to get off to the program's first 7-0 start to a season since 2014-15.