Wheaton, Ill. -- Less than 24 hours after earning a season-opening win over Bethany Lutheran College, the Wheaton women's basketball team returned to King Arena for the second portion of this weekend's Beth Baker Classic. The Thunder faced off against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans, who also won their first game on Friday evening, to close out the annual event and the first weekend of the 2023-24 season. Wheaton used a dominant first quarter performance to eventually secure a 69-58 victory to move to 2-0 on the year, making the Thunder the only team to post a perfect record at this year's Classic. Two seniors on Wheaton's roster,
Caroline Sikkink and
Annie Tate, were named to the All-Tournament team for their showings this weekend, and Sikkink was recognized as the Beth Baker Classic MVP. This marks the third-consecutive season in which Sikkink has been named to the All-Tournament team and the second time that Tate earned the honor after winning the MVP award herself in 2021.
Tate (
pictured at left with tournament namesake, Beth Baker) registered the first six points of Saturday's contest for Wheaton, and the home side mounted a 9-0 run to build a 17-7 score advantage towards the end of the first quarter. The Thunder's defensive intensity, sharp shooting, and vocal home court support gave the competition's hosts an early platform that they never relinquished. The Titans began the second quarter well and pulled back within three points, but Wheaton kept coming up with baskets at important times in the game to keep their WIAC opponents at arm's length. With the score at 25-22 in Wheaton's favor with 3:30 remaining in the first half, three points from Sikkink and a jumper in the paint by
Lily Schwen pushed the lead back to eight points. Schwen then buried a three-pointer with 30 seconds left on the clock to give the Thunder a comfortable nine-point edge at halftime.
A combination of falling shooting percentages and increased whistles from the officials led to a choppier second half, but Wheaton's start to the third quarter saw the Thunder pull away for good. After an Oshkosh layup made it 34-26 in the first minute after the intermission, Wheaton rattled off the next ten points to claim their largest lead of the night at 18 points, a run that was bookended by big buckets from Sikkink. The Titans did not go down without a fight and managed to cut the deficit to eight at the start of the fourth quarter. But a layup in the lane from Sikkink moved the margin back up to double-digits and encapsulated Wheaton's refusal to have their weekend spoiled. The Titans could not come up with enough answers on either end of the court, and after outscoring their guests by eight in the first frame, the Thunder posted a single point more than the Titans in the following three periods to see out the win.
Wheaton tallied a shooting percentage of at least 50% in three of the four quarters tonight and ended the game with an even 50% mark from the floor, including eight converted three-point attempts. Oshkosh was held to an overall shooting tally of just 30% and only dropped in five of their 20 three-point tries. Both teams shot 68% from the charity stripe. The Titans edged the Thunder in total rebounds, committed fewer turnovers, and posted advantages in most of the box score statistical categories, but this was not enough to overcome Wheaton's offensive efficiency and Oshkosh's own shooting struggles.
Sikkink (
pictured at right) led all players with 27 points and five assists on Saturday evening, while also gathering in seven rebounds and not committing any turnovers.
Fellow All-Tournament honoree
Annie Tate was the game's next-highest scorer with 17 points and earned eight boards. Schwen contributed seven points on 3-4 shooting and picked up four assists, while
Annika Richardson earned a game-high ten rebounds to go with her six-point and three-assist totals.
2023 Beth Baker Classic Honorees:
Tournament MVP
Caroline Sikkink (Wheaton)
All-Tournament Team
Caroline Sikkink
Annie Tate (Wheaton)
Morgan Hawkins (Dubuque)
Gianna Klarenbeek (Bethany Lutheran)
Kennedy Osterman (UW-Oshkosh)
After an ideal start to the young season, the Wheaton women will enjoy a short weekend away from the court before returning to action again on Tuesday evening. The Thunder are set to welcome Benedictine University to King Arena for a 5 PM non-conference meeting.
