Mequon, Wis. -- The Wheaton women's basketball team continued its six-game stretch away from King Arena on Tuesday night with a trip north to take on the Falcons of Concordia University Wisconsin. The Thunder employed a stifling defensive effort to claim a comfortable 58-36 victory and improve to 4-3 on the young season with its first road win of 2024-25. The visitors did not allow Concordia to score a single point in the first quarter of Tuesday's contest, and the home side's final total of 36 is the fewest an opponent has scored since Wheaton held Otterbein University to 34 points in the finale of the 2021 Beth Baker Classic.
The full game statistics underline the Thunder's impressive defense tonight, with Wheaton holding CUW to a 27% shooting figure over four quarters, including a dismal 2-23 mark from three-point range. The Falcons outscored their CCIW guests in the second quarter and found some offensive power in the fourth frame, with the two sides combining for 45 points and each shooting over 50%. But the damage had already been done by a 15-0 first quarter tilt for Wheaton, and the visitors led wire-to-wire in Tuesday's professional performance.
The Thunder out-rebounded Concordia Wisconsin 34-27 and committed two fewer turnovers while also knocking down 11 foul shots to CUW's six. The hosts limited Wheaton to a single second-chance basket tonight, but the visitors created decisive advantages in points off of turnovers, bench production, and fast break points to cement their victory.
Kate Oliver forced two takeaways in the win and tallied 12 points to lead Wheaton in scoring, while
Grace Kizer (pictured right) contributed 11 in her 28 minutes of action off the bench.
Alyssa Faberowski notched seven points and brought down a game-high ten rebounds.
Annika Richardson had a Swiss army knife performance on Tuesday, leading all players in assists with five and steals with three while also grabbing nine boards, including four offensive rebounds.
Alexis Martin registered five points, seven boards, and a blocked shot in 16 minutes on the court, and
Lauryn Ham made her first collegiate appearance and tallied her first basket with a fourth-quarter three-pointer.
On the back of Tuesday's impressive result, the Wheaton women's squad can now enjoy a full week away from competition. The Thunder will pause for the Thanksgiving holiday and return to the court on Wednesday, December 4th for its conference opener. Wheaton heads to Decatur for a 7 PM matchup against Millikin University to begin this season's CCIW schedule.
