Chicago, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder women's basketball team picked up its fourth win its last five contests on Wednesday night with a 56-49 victory at North Park (7-15, 3-10 CCIW). Wheaton is now 14-9 overall and 9-5 in CCIW play. The Thunder are off until next Wednesday when the squad travels to Waukesha, Wisconsin for a road matchup at Carroll.
Annika Richardson led the Thunder with 16 points tonight. The sophomore grabbed seven rebounds and distributed two assists, with one block shot and a steal.
Caroline Sikkink tallied nine points with six rebounds, while
Caylee Hermanson scored nine points with six boards.
Anna Fernandez scored eight points with nine rebounds.
Kate Oliver scored seven points, with three assists off the Thunder bench and
Ellie Cassell added six points, with two assists.
Wheaton posted a 42.9% (21-of-49) field goal percentage, including 29.4% (5-of-17) from three-point range. The Vikings shot 30.5% (18-of-59) from the field, with just 11.8% behind the three-point arc. The Thunder shot 75% (9-of-12) at the free throw line tonight, while the hosts had a 73.3% (11-of-15) effort at the charity stripe. The guests out-rebounded NPU 35-28, with each team grabbing nine offensive boards.
North Park led the Thunder 11-8 midway through the first quarter. Wheaton closed out the period with a 6-1 run as the Thunder lead 14-12 to end the first. Richardson scored seven of Wheaton's 14 points in the first quarter.
North Park scored the first eight points of the second quarter to gain a 20-14 lead with 5:00 remaining before halftime. The Vikings out-scored the Thunder 14-7 in the second quarter as the hosts led 26-21 at the halftime intermission.
The hosts led 32-27 with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter when a basket by Hermanson sparked a 13-2 Thunder run that gave the Thunder a 40-34 lead with 25-seconds left in the third. North Park's Lauren McKnight made a three-pointer to conclude the quarter as Wheaton led 40-37 through three quarters. Fernandez led the Thunder with five points and four rebounds in the third quarter.
The Vikings opened the fourth quarter with 10 unanswered points to take a 47-40 lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. Wheaton responded with 12 unanswered points as the guests to a 52-47 lead with 41-seconds left in regulation. The crucial 12-0 Thunder run was sparked by a Richardson jumper with 4:53 remaining in the game, followed by a Hermanson three-pointer and a Sikkink layup. Richardson made a three-pointer with 1:36 left in the game to give Wheaton the lead for a good as her trey gave the guests a 50-47 lead. Fernandez concluded the run by making a layup with 41-seconds left to give Wheaton a 52-47 lead. Richardson scored seven points in the fourth quarter, and she grabbed three rebounds.
Kathryn Keehn and Esther Miller each scored 10 points for North Park to lead the hosts. Victoria Perry scored nine points with six rebounds and four assists. NPU's Chantel Hairston led the hosts with 11 rebounds, and she added seven points.
