Chicago, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder women's basketball team earned a CCIW road win at North Park (3-11, 0-5 CCIW) on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder topped the Vikings 65-46. Wheaton improves to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in CCIW play. The Thunder remain on the road for their next contest as Wheaton travels to 11th-ranked Millikin on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Annie Tate led Wheaton with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, with two three-pointers. Tate added 10 rebounds to record a "double-double". Alexis Martin set career highs with her performance as she scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Kate Oliver had a team-high five assists to lead the Thunder. Lily Schen scored seven points, with three rebounds and two assists. Alyssa Faberowski scored six points for the guests.
Wheaton shot 41.4% (24-of-58) from the field, including 21.1% (4-for-19) behind the three-point arc. The Vikings had a 32.1% (17-of-53) field goal percentage today, including a 26.7% (4-of-15) mark from three-point range. Wheaton shot 76.5% (13-of-17) at the free throw line and the Vikings had a 72.7% (8-of-11) effort at the charity stripe. The Thunder out-rebounded the hosts 38-35, including an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass. Wheaton's bench played a role today as its reserves out-scored the Vikings' bench 19-6.
The Vikings led for much of the first quarter as the hosts led 12-10 at the end of the first period. Wheaton pulled away in the second quarter as the guests out-scored the hosts 25-7 in the final 10 minutes of the first half to give the Thunder a 35-19 lead at halftime. Tate scored 15 points in the first half, including 13 points in the second quarter. Martin scored all nine of her first half points in the second quarter.
Wheaton's largest lead of the game was a 27-point bulge at 50-23 with 3:40 left in the third quarter. Wheaton maintained its substantial lead throughout the fourth quarter as Wheaton earned the 65-46 victory. Tate scored 10 points in the second half and Martin added seven, while Oliver distributed four assists.
Victoria Perry led North Park with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Aliyah Hershberger tallied 12 points for the Vikings.
