Rock Island, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's basketball team got back to winning ways and a winning record in conference play on Wednesday night by edging Augustana, 68-65, on the road. Tonight's victory puts the Thunder's overall record at 15-7 and 7-6 in CCIW action. Helping Wheaton to their third straight win over the Vikings were Annika Richardson with a game-high 24 points and Hannah Swider with 19 points and team-highs of six rebounds and two steals. 

The hosts registered the first four points of Wednesday's matchup, but Richardson got Wheaton on the board with a three-pointer two and a half minutes in. The next three scores for the visitors all came from the free throw line as the aforementioned Thunder players each converted to cut Augie's lead to two points at 8-6. Back-to-back threes from the Vikings threatened to overwhelm Wheaton, but the Thunder responded impressively by mounting an 11-0 run to earn their first lead at 17-14 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Ellie Cassel got things started with a jumper, before Richardson and Swider splashed in consecutive deep shots to push Wheaton in front. Augustana answered by scoring the next five, but Wheaton were still able to end the first quarter on top thanks to a Richardson free throw and a Lily Schwen layup on the final series to give the Thunder a 20-19 edge. Ana Mooney earned a pair of two-pointers to get the scoring underway for Wheaton in the second quarter. After the hosts jabbed back with another five-point spurt, Caroline Sikkink converted a basket in the paint to tie the score at 26 with six minutes left in the half. The next three minutes were scoreless as both sides failed to hit the mark offensively, but Cassel finally dropped in another jump shot to give Wheaton a two-point edge. The hosts and visitors exchanged points in the subsequent possessions, but Augustana managed to fight to a 34-32 tilt and went into the halftime break with the lead after no points were scored in the final minute of the half. 

The Vikings' advantage stretched to five after the first basket of the second half, but two foul shots from Swider and a Sikkink layup helped Wheaton reduce the deficit to one. Just over the midway point of the quarter, Caylee Hermanson answered an Augustana make with a three-pointer to tie it up at 41 apiece. Consecutive baskets in the lane from Swider helped the Thunder earn their first lead of the half at 45-44. Augie responded with two shots of their own to reclaim the advantage, before Cassel dropped in a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game with a minute left in the third. Augustana proceeded to go 1-for-2 from the line, and Cassel capitalized by once again converting both of her foul shots. The scoreline was all knotted up at 49, but the hosts drained a three as time expired to give themselves a slender edge heading into the decisive period. After a 5-0 run to begin the fourth, it seemed like Augustana might pull away to earn an important conference win on their home floor. But in the final eight minutes of play, Wheaton had other ideas. Annika Richardson rattled off four straight points, and these were followed by a clutch three-pointer from Hannah Swider to slice the home side's lead back down to one. Richardson registered Wheaton's next four points to give the Thunder a 60-59 advantage, and Sikkink quickly extended it with a layup in the paint. Three points from Augie book-ended another Richardson layup, and with the score intriguingly positioned at 64-62, the freshman knocked down a crucial three to push Wheaton's lead up to five points with two minutes remaining. This proved to be the last basket scored from open play in the contest, as the final four tallies all came from the charity stripe. After Swider gave Wheaton a 68-63 edge with 30 seconds left to play, Augustana answered with a pair of their own. The home side then had a chance to send the game into overtime as the clock wound down, but the necessary three-pointer failed to connect, and the Thunder escaped Rock Island with a hard-earned win.

Remarkably, the two teams posted the exact same field goal percentages by each going 24-55 from the floor. Wheaton saved their best quarter for last, posting a 58.33% shooting mark in the fourth quarter. The Thunder had a decent 41.2% showing from behind the three-point line, but this was eclipsed by Augustana's 9-20 performance. But Wheaton had the better evening at the free throw line, and this proved critical in such a tight contest. The Vikings edged the rebounding battle at 31-27, but Wheaton did the same in turnovers, only committing ten to Augie's 12. Both sides earned 26 points in the paint, while Wheaton converted eight points off of turnovers to their hosts' seven. The Thunder also held advantages in the fast break points, bench points, and second chance points areas, and this undoubtedly helped the traveling squad prevail in the tight affair.

Richardson earned four rebounds and two assists to go with her high-scoring night. Ellie Cassel was the third Thunder player to hit double-figures, going for ten points and a rebound. Caroline Sikkink chipped in with six points, four boards, two assists, and a steal. Lily Schwen posted five rebounds and a team-leading five assists. Ana Mooney proved to be an important contributor off the bench, earning four points, three assists, and two rebounds. Caylee Hermanson had another Swiss army knife showing, collecting five boards, three points, an assist, and a steal as a substitute.

After beginning their three-game run of road contests with a win, Wheaton will look to pull an upset in Bloomington on Saturday afternoon when they travel to face Illinois Wesleyan.