Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's basketball team returned to King Arena for the first time in a month on Wednesday night to host the North Park Vikings in an important conference matchup. Both teams entered the game with CCIW records of 3-2 knowing that a win would help keep them near the top of the league standings. Wheaton posted a dominant first quarter performance but had to overcome a strong North Park response either side of halftime to hold on for the seven-point victory. As a result of Wednesday night's win, the Thunder move to 4-2 in CCIW play and currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the conference. Freshman Kate Oliver registered a career-high 25 points to help the home side seal the deal in this evening's contest.

Annika Richardson wasted no time in putting the Thunder on the board, converting a layup in the paint in the first ten seconds of the game. But North Park answered back quickly with a three-pointer, giving the Vikings their only lead of the night, despite staying within striking distance for most of the affair. After two NPU free throws set the score at 6-5 in the hosts' favor, Wheaton tallied 11 of the following 14 points to establish a healthy home court advantage. Alyssa Faberowski and Anna Fernandez registered the last five points of the opening quarter for Wheaton on subsequent possessions, and the suburban side threatened to run away with the contest by building a 15-point cushion heading into the second quarter. A three-ball from Faberowski one minute into the second frame seemingly continued the game's one-sided trajectory, but the visiting Vikings flipped a switch in the last eight minutes of the first half and out-scored the Thunder by a margin of 21-9 to claw their way back into the game. Wheaton struggled to match North Park's energy in the second period, and the combination of the home side's shots ceasing to drop and North Park drawing plenty of foul calls made life more difficult than the smooth sailing of the first quarter. Oliver nailed a long-range jumper with 2:16 remaining in the frame to push Wheaton's lead back up to 13 points, but the guests mounted an 8-1 run to close out the first half and trim the Thunder's lead back down to its slimmest margin since the midway point of the first quarter.

North Park picked up right where they left off after the intermission, scoring back-to-back baskets to cut the deficit all the way down to two points. Caroline Sikkink responded with a successful jump shot, and from that point on, the third quarter was firmly in the balance as both teams tried to assert their will on proceedings. North Park never managed to flip the scoreline in their favor, but the traveling side prevented Wheaton from building the sizable advantage that they enjoyed in the first quarter. The Vikings cut the Thunder's lead down to a single point on three occasions in the third period, but Wheaton came up with enough clutch shots and defensive stands to keep the Vikings' momentum at bay. Oliver dropped in five straight points around the two-minute mark of the third quarter to give Wheaton a 54-49 edge, but North Park connected on a three-pointer to register the last points of the section, and Wheaton led by only two heading into the decisive home stretch. Caroline Sikkink made a valuable contribution with consecutive baskets in the paint to help the hosts begin the fourth quarter well, but eight straight made free throws by North Park ate away at Wheaton's lead, and the scoreboard read 66-63 with three minutes left to play. Kate Oliver then connected on a pair of important foul shots, and Anna Fernandez registered a jumper with 95 seconds left to give Wheaton a 70-65 edge. This basket proved to be the Thunder's last from open play, but two key defensive stops provided the platform for the hosts to seal the win from the free throw line. First, Oliver blocked a Viking shot with a little over one minute remaining, then Richardson stole the ball with 50 seconds left to help Wheaton recover possession. The Thunder had to overcome one more nervy sequence late on, as North Park hit a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to cut the lead back down to four points. But Sikkink, Oliver, and Fernandez each sank one free throw on Wheaton's subsequent possessions to help clinch the victory. 

The first two quarters of tonight's matchup provided a stark contrast in the two teams' shooting figures. North Park managed only a 25% mark from the floor in the first period while Wheaton dropped in 60% of their attempts. But the Vikings flipped the script in the second frame, hitting 47% of their shots while holding Wheaton to a 27% average. The fourth quarter proved decisive, as Wheaton connected on 54% of their shots and stifled their guests into shooting just 3-13 from the floor in the final frame. The teams were relatively even from beyond the arc on Wednesday, as NPU posted a 38.5% figure from three-point range and Wheaton shot 35.3%. North Park missed 11 free throws in the game but still managed to collect 25 points from the charity stripe off of a notable 36 attempts. Wheaton controlled the interior in tonight's matchup as the home side used their size advantage effectively, putting up 38 points in the paint to North Park's 20. The Vikings managed to pip the Thunder in the rebounding battle, but Wheaton forced more turnovers in the contest. The single biggest statistical disparity came in the bench points category, as the Thunder benefited from 35 and North Park registered 18.

Kate Oliver was the single biggest reason for the aforementioned disparity, putting up a game- and season-high 25 points in 33 minutes off the bench. The freshman also led all players with nine rebounds and four blocked shots to round off a statement performance. Annika Richardson, Anna Fernandez, and Caroline Sikkink each hit double-figures in scoring in Wednesday's win, tallying 14, 13, and 10 points, respectively. Richardson gathered in a game-high five steals, while Sikkink registered eight boards. She was joined on eight rebounds by Ellie Cassel, who also chipped in five points off the bench for the Thunder. Alyssa Faberowski played a key role in tonight's result, particularly in the first half, as the freshman guard notched five points, two assists, and a takeaway as she helped Wheaton push the pace in transition.

After getting back in the conference win column, Wheaton will stay at home on Saturday for a 5 PM tip-off against Carthage.