Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's basketball team earned their second home conference win in four days on Wednesday evening, as the Thunder took down Augustana, 56-47, in King Arena. Tonight's victory improves Wheaton's record to 12-4 overall and an even 4-4 in CCIW play. In a professional performance, the Thunder grabbed the early advantage and never looked back, with the home team leading wire-to-wire to clinch another momentum-building win.

The Thunder could not have scripted a better start to tonight's game, at least not as far as Annika Richardson is concerned. The rookie scored the first seven points of the night for either side, and before Augustana earned their first basket of the contest, they already faced a deficit of nine thanks to an additional two-pointer from Ellie Cassel. Halfway through the first quarter, the Vikings finally found their offensive rhythm and mounted an eight-point run of their own to reduce Wheaton's lead to one. But back-to-back threes from Richardson in the final 90 seconds of the period gave Wheaton a 15-8 tilt, and Augustana never managed to make the scoreline that close again. 

Lily Schwen kicked off the scoring in the second quarter, converting a layup one minute in. After Cassel splashed a standing jumper a minute later, the visitors registered a layup in the paint and a fast break three-pointer to cut the lead to six at 19-13. However, Richardson and Cassel soon ensured that Wheaton's lead remained unchallenged by knocking in another three and jump shot, respectively. These baskets were followed by two and a half minutes of scoreless play as the two teams went cold from the field and exchanged turnovers. Augustana received a much-needed boost in the closing minutes of the first half when the Vikings scored a combined six points off of three straight possessions to gain the momentum heading into halftime. Despite a 24-19 lead at the break, Wheaton's advantage had been reduced and the visitors were threatening to make things interesting in the second half.

Fortunately for the home side, this threat was soon blunted by another seven-point run to start the half. Caroline Sikkink converted a jumper before Cassel did likewise and Richardson made her last of five three-pointers on the night to push the margin back up to 12 points at 31-19. Augustana rallied by scoring a layup and another shot from beyond the arc, but Wheaton immediately responded, and the Thunder's lead hovered around 11 points for the rest of the quarter as the two sides battled back and forth without firmly gaining the upper hand and going on an extended run. A pair of Taylor Sanders free throws on Wheaton's final possession of the period gave the hosts a 42-31 edge heading into the last quarter.

The final section of play also began with a Sikkink jumper, and one minute later Augustana had their reply via a layup in the paint. But Ana Mooney drained a critical three-pointer on the next possession to give Wheaton their largest lead of the night at 14 points, and despite a spirited effort from the Vikings, this advantage proved too large to overcome for the visitors from Rock Island. Augustana managed to cut Wheaton's lead back down to single digits on three occasions, including a pair of free throws that gave the game its ultimate 56-47 scoreline, but never found the key to breaking down Wheaton's spirited defense. The Thunder forced three shot clock violations on the evening and put in one of their best defensive performances of the conference season thus far, pinching 19 takeaways and holding Augie to a 35% shooting mark in the contest. 

As a team, Wheaton shot 37.5% from the floor across the four quarters, but posted an important 48.3% mark in the second half. Their three-point conversion rate on the night was slightly lower at 35.3%, but the home side had another excellent performance from the free throw line, going a perfect 8-8. Augustana out-rebounded their hosts in Wednesday's clash, but Wheaton won the turnover battle, 19-12. The other box score statistics imply an even contest, despite the Vikings trailing for the entirety of the game. The visitors had more points in the paint, second chance points, fast break points, and bench points than the Thunder, but the largest and most pivotal discrepancy came in the points off of turnovers category. Wheaton claimed 19, while Augustana settled for six.

Freshman phenom Annika Richardson once again led Wheaton in scoring, putting up 21 more points to further bolster her debut campaign. Ellie Cassel was the other Thunder player to reach double-digits in scoring, earning 12 points to go with six rebounds, an assist, a block, and two steals. Lily Schwen led the team in both rebounds (seven) and assists (five), while contributing seven points of her own. Hannah Swider also scored seven, as well as grabbing three boards and forcing a pair of steals. Four was the magic number for Caroline Sikkink, as the sophomore posted a quartet of points, rebounds, and assists. 

Next up, Wheaton will look to make it three home wins on the bounce when the Thunder play host to Elmhurst on Saturday evening.