Wheaton, Ill. -- In their final home game of the 2021-22 season, the Wheaton women's basketball team had the unenviable task of facing a conference-leading Millikin side that was playing for a share of the CCIW regular season title and hosting rights for next week's conference tournament. After a pregame ceremony recognizing the four senior players on the Thunder team for their contributions to the program, the contest got underway. What started out as a competitive, back-and-forth affair eventually became a straightforward victory for a strong Millikin side. As a result of tonight's 83-63 defeat, Wheaton finishes the regular season with a 15-10 record overall, a 7-9 mark in conference play, and enters the CCIW tournament as the #5 seed. The team will now turn its attention to Tuesday's matchup at North Park in the first round of the competition. 

It did not take long for the Thunder to show their determination in pulling an upset this evening, as the home side quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead, courtesy of back-to-back baskets from star senior Hannah Swider. The first quarter was a rollercoaster display, as both teams hit the gas pedal and played the game at breakneck speed in an attempt to build a lead and overwhelm their opponents. After trailing for most of the opening five minutes, the Big Blue mounted a 6-0 surge to claim a 15-10 advantage. But four straight buckets from Wheaton and the same number of turnovers from Millikin helped the hosts swing the scoreline back to 19-15 in their favor with a minute remaining in the period. A jumper from Millikin's Elyce Knudsen, who led all players tonight with an astonishing 41 points, cut Wheaton's lead to two heading into the second quarter. The leading scorer for the visitors picked up where she left off after the break and rattled off three baskets to give Millikin a 23-19 lead. Although the game remained tight and competitive for most of the time left in the half, this run from the visitors marked the last time that the Thunder held the lead in Saturday's game. Wheaton managed to cut the Big Blue's advantage to a single possession on three occasions in the subsequent exchanges, but every time the Thunder made things interesting on the scoreboard, Millikin had an answer. Their dominant interior play, frequent personnel rotation, and stingy defense proved too much for a short-handed Thunder squad to overcome. A three-pointer from Hannah Swider reduced the visitors' lead to four with 3:15 left to play in the half, but Millikin generated a 16-3 run over the final minutes to claim a healthy lead heading into halftime.  

Annika Richardson opened the scoring in the second half by knocking down a shot from beyond the arc, and Swider canceled out the following Knudsen jumper to trim Millikin's lead to 14. But this margin was as close as Wheaton came to mounting a proper comeback after halftime, and the Big Blue had the luxury of playing most of the second half on cruise control. If there were any doubts about the quality of this season's Millikin roster, the regular season champions laid those to rest with an emphatic pull-away win on Saturday evening. Having earned hosting rights for the semifinals and championship game in next week's tournament, the side from Decatur will enter the competition as favorites to win it and lift a second conference trophy in the space of seven days.

Both teams had an admirable shooting performance on the night, as Millikin posted a 54% mark and Wheaton shot exactly 50% from the floor. Each side dropped in six three pointers in the game, and Wheaton finished with a slightly superior 35.3% showing. The Thunder went 11-16 from the free throw line, and the Big Blue were close to flawless at 82%. Unsurprisingly, Millikin's 46-20 edge in points in the paint proved critical, as did their rebounding advantage of 17. Saturday's contest was turnover heavy, as the hosts forced 21 from the visitors and committed 24 of their own. Millikin held comfortable margins in most of the statistical categories, but Wheaton did earn the nod in points off of turnovers, converting 23 to Millikin's 19. 

Fittingly, Hannah Swider led the team in scoring in her final appearance on the King Arena court. The senior posted 23 points to go with three rebounds and an assist. Caroline Sikkink contributed 14 of her own, along with a team-high five assists, three steals, and a pair of boards. Annika Richardson went for 12 points, three assists, and one steal and rebound. Caylee Hermanson added six points off the bench, and another Thunder senior, Paris Chaney, saw 12 minutes of action on Saturday in which she registered a takeaway and a rebound.

After tonight's special occasion in King Arena, Wheaton now has just under 72 hours to get ready for its first round clash at North Park. The Vikings swept the previous two meetings with the Thunder this season, and Wheaton will try their best to avoid a second defeat in Chicago in the span of a week.