Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton women's basketball team withstood a fourth quarter charge from the visiting Firebirds of Carthage College on Saturday night and held on for a 55-49 victory to improve to 5-2 in CCIW action this year and 10-6 overall. The loss drops Carthage to 3-4 in conference play and 7-9 overall. Wheaton will be back in action on Wednesday, January 18, for the third of its five-straight home games when the Thunder host Carroll University in a key battle for second place in the CCIW standings.

Both teams struggled shooting on Saturday night with the victorious Thunder turning in a 30.8% (20-65) performance from the field including 22.7% (5-22) from beyond the arc and 50% (10-20) at the free throw line. Carthage was held to 27.6% (16-58) from the field and 25% (5-20) from the three-point line while making 12-of-14 free throw attempts. Wheaton narrowly won the rebounding battle 47-46 with a 17-13 edge in offensive boards.

Carthage started the game strong on the defensive end of the floor, scoring the game's first five points and holding Wheaton scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. Wheaton was able to close the gap in the back half of the quarter, pulling to within a point on Lily Schwen's jumper in the final seconds to trail 9-8. With the game remaining tight throughout the second quarter, Wheaton saw an opportunity to take control of the game and seized it. Caylee Hermanson's jumper with 2:43 left in the half put Wheaton ahead for good in the game at 20-19 and kicked off a 9-0 run to close the half for the Thunder. Annika Richardson tallied the last five points of the run including a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the half to give Wheaton a 27-19 halftime lead.

A Caroline Sikkink triple pushed Wheaton's lead into double digits early in the third quarter as the Thunder built the lead to a game-high 15 points with six minutes left in the quarter. The Firebird would not be put away easily, closing the quarter on a 7-2 run over the final four and a half minutes to trail 41-33 heading into the final quarter.

Wheaton was able to keep Carthage at arm's length throught the first few minutes of the final quarter, but the visitors used a 9-2 run to get as close as 50-49 on Marianna Morrissey's lay-up with 1:29 to play. On the ensuing possession, Sikkink's jumper wouldn't go but Anna Fernandez grabbed her lone rebound of the game to prolong the possession. With the shot clock dwindling down, Sikkink drove into the lane and kicked out to Kate Oliver at the top of the key for a three-pointer that rattled around the rim and rolled down to put Wheaton back ahead 53-49. Sikkink would ice the game with a pair of free throws with ten seconds left to account for the 55-49 final score. 

Caroline Sikkink led all players with 20 points and added 10 rebounds in a double-double performance. Annika Richardson narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds. Kate Oliver finished with 12 points and six boards.