Decatur, Ill. -- After hosting the top side in the CCIW for Senior Night just six days ago, the Wheaton women's basketball team faced another meeting with Millikin on Friday, this time in the conference tournament semifinals. While the third contest between these squads in the 2021-22 season was not the 20-point cruise that the first two were for the Big Blue, the home side eventually outlasted their spirited visitors to claim a 70-61 victory and advance to the CCIW Tournament championship game on Saturday. With tonight's result, Wheaton's season comes to a close with the Thunder posting an overall record of 16-11. Wheaton's Caroline Sikkink led all players with 20 points, while Ellie Cassel earned game-highs of nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

The two teams put up similar shooting numbers in Friday's matchup. Wheaton edged their hosts in overall field goal percentage with a 38.9% mark, but Millikin made six three-point shots to Wheaton's three. The Thunder had another strong showing at the free throw line, going 16 of 18 on the night, while the Big Blue earned a 90% conversion rate of their own. Wheaton successfully flipped the script when it came to points in the paint. In last Saturday's matchup, Millikin dominated this area, earning 46 to Wheaton's 20. But the Thunder added eight to their total from last week and held Millikin to just 26 this time around. Unfortunately for the underdogs, the Big Blue made up for this deficit by gaining advantages in the fast break, turnover, second chance, and bench points categories. The two sides were evenly split in rebounding, but Millikin won the turnover battle, 21-13, which ultimately helped the favored side clinch the win.

Sikkink chalked up four rebounds to go with her game-leading point total. Annika Richardson wrapped up her CCIW accolade-earning freshman season by posting 14 points and seven boards. Hannah Swider, playing in what was likely her final collegiate game, also reached double-figures in scoring with 11 points, along with one rebound, steal, and assist. Cassel registered six points and two assists in addition to the aforementioned game-highs. Lily Schwen led the team with three assists while also going for three rebounds, two points, a block, and a takeaway. Caylee Hermanson added six points and four boards off the bench. Bryn Durrill made one shot to round out the scoring for the visitors. Defensively, Wheaton held conference player of the year Elyce Knudsen to just 19 points (eight of which came from the free-throw line) one week after the Millikin guard put up a career-best 41 on the Thunder's home floor. 

Both Wheaton and Millikin scored on their opening possessions, with the first basket of the game coming via a layup in the paint from Caroline Sikkink. The next two minutes were scoreless, before Hannah Swider answered a pair of Millikin free throws with a three to give Wheaton a 5-4 edge. But the tournament's #1 seed responded by mounting a 12-2 run to open up a 16-7 advantage with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. A jumper from Annika Richardson, followed by two charity stripe points by Caylee Hermanson, got Wheaton back into the game, but the Big Blue conjured up another charge to create firm separation in the closing stages of the quarter. A layup from Ellie Cassel as the clock expired put the scoreline at 24-13 in Millikin's favor heading into the second period. Just as they did in Tuesday's upset win at North Park, the Thunder took the game to their hosts in the second quarter. This stretch was Wheaton's most successful of the night, as they out-scored the Big Blue 19-12, shot 61.5% from the floor, and held Millikin to just 3-13 shooting to make things interesting. With the home team leading 32-20 halfway through the frame, Richardson splashed in a deep shot and Swider added a two-point jumper to help the Thunder build some momentum. A 7-0 run for the visitors was capped by another basket from Richardson, before Millikin answered with a jump shot of their own. Sikkink scored all five of Wheaton's points in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 36-32 Millikin lead at halftime and plant a seed of doubt in the regular season champions' minds.  

The third quarter failed to see either team fully take the game by the scruff of the neck, as Wheaton did their best to remain competitive and Millikin tried to pull themselves out of their second quarter slump. The Thunder twice cut the Big Blue's lead back down to four points after Millikin baskets, but the hosts found a response each time their challengers threatened to overturn the scoreline. After Richardson converted a free throw and a jump shot, a Big Blue layup restored their eight-point advantage. But Sikkink once again had the last laugh, as the sophomore drove into the paint and laid the ball in as the horn sounded. As a result, Millikin held a 54-48 nod heading into the decisive quarter. A pair of Swider free throws at the start of the fourth brought Wheaton back within touching distance, but the hosts answered with a 7-0 stretch, and after this sequence, Millikin were able to see the game out without any major issues. The Big Blue held an 11-point advantage with two minutes left to play, but five consecutive free throws by the Thunder reduced Millikn's lead to six with just under a minute remaining. From that point on, it was simply a question of whether the home side would be able to hold their nerve from the line as Wheaton were forced to foul them to slow the clock. Millikin went three-for-four from the stripe down the stretch, and Wheaton battled until the closing seconds, but could not find the big shots required to force the game into overtime. A competitive contest ended 70-61, with the fifth-seeded underdogs asking questions of their favored hosts and doing well to challenge Millikin into earning their place in tomorrow's conference title game against Illinois Wesleyan.

For various reasons, the 2021-22 season may not have played out exactly as the Thunder would have hoped back in November, but the CCIW Tournament offered the team a chance to go out with heads held high after back-to-back encouraging road trip performances against strong opponents. With key contributions coming from younger members of the roster in the second half of the season, there is reason for optimism for the Wheaton women's basketball team heading into the offseason.