Oshkosh, Wis. – The Wheaton College women's basketball team's late rally came up just short as the Thunder fell 56-54 at No. 8 UW-Oshkosh at the UW-Oshkosh Classic on Saturday afternooon
Wheaton (3-3) trailed by as many as nine points in the second half and were behind 53-46 with 2:43 left to play in the contest. A 6-1 run over the next minute, sparked by three-pointers from junior
Kate Oliver and senior
Annika Richardson, pulled Wheaton to within two points at 54-52 with 1:50 remaining.
UW-Oshkosh (6-0) pushed its lead back to four points with 1:34 left after a bucket from Paige Secker. Sophomore
Jenna Hunter's layup with 42 seconds pulled Wheaton back to within two points at 54-52. Wheaton came up with a defensive stop on UW-Oshkosh's next possession, but Richardson's three-point attempt just before the buzzer was offline.
In the first half, the Thunder opened the contest on a 10-2 run, building an eight-point cushion midway through the opening quarter. Wheaton led 13-8 after the first quarter, but UW-Oshkosh outscored the Thunder 15-7 in the second quarter to carry a 23-20 lead into halftime.
Richardson led Wheaton in the loss, totaling a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs. Richardson poured in five three-pointers while also dishing out three assists. Oliver added 13 points and six rebounds while Hunter also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points.
Seckar led the Titans in the victory, coming off the bench to score a team-leading 12 points. Sammi Beyer added 10 points while Avery Poole and Alex Rondorf tallied nine points apiece. Rondorf tallied a team-leading nine rebounds for UW-Oshkosh.
Both teams shot an identical 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the field. Shooting from three-point distance was nearly identical as well. Wheaton shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from beyond the arc while UW-Oshkosh shot 39.1 percent (9-of-23). The Thunder outrebounded UW-Oshkosh 37-32.
Wheaton will continue its six-game road trip by traveling to Concordia University (Wis.) on Tuesday, November 26.
