Wheaton, Ill. -- Taking the court for the final time in 2024, the Wheaton women's basketball team welcomed Westminster College (Mo.) to King Arena on Saturday afternoon for the first-ever meeting between the two sides and the last regular season nonconference game on the Thunder's schedule. The visiting Blue Jays began the contest on the front foot and led 20-10 at the end of the first quarter, but Wheaton turned the game around in the second half to eventually secure a 65-61 home win. Today's result brings the Thunder to 7-5 on the year and extends the team's perfect record in King Arena this season.

Kate Oliver, who scored a joint game-high 18 points this afternoon, logged the first basket of the matchup on Wheaton's opening possession from a layup in the lane after getting her own rebound. But a strong end to the first period saw the SLIAC guests surge in front. Westminster mounted a 7-0 run to claim the lead after a tie at 6-6 midway through the frame, and another 7-2 stretch was only broken up by a pair of Thunder free throws and another paint layup. The Blue Jays dropped in a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the quarter to establish a 20-10 tilt. But the hosts quickly regrouped and held their Missouri visitors to just nine points and a 2-17 shooting mark in the second period to lay the foundation for a comeback. The two sides exchanged baskets in the closing minutes of the first half as neither team was able to fully assert control. A Jenna Hunter bucket (pictured left) with one minute left made it 29-22 in the Blue Jays' favor and gave Wheaton a boost heading into the second half.

Two more Thunder layups in the lane at the start of the third quarter trimmed the deficit down to three points, and Wheaton managed to hang with their first-time opponents even after Westminster pushed its lead back up to eight a few minutes later. Consecutive jumpers from Hunter tied the score at 40-40 with under two minutes left in the third, before a three-pointer helped the Blue Jays earn a narrow 44-43 edge heading into the final frame. 

Oliver came up with two big shots in a 90-second span in the opening minutes of the fourth to give the Thunder their first lead since it was 2-0 at 48-45. A defensive stop was then followed by a three-ball from Alyssa Faberowski that pushed the home side's advantage to six. Wheaton rode this wave of momentum to the next five points and enjoyed their largest lead of the day at a 56-45 line with five minutes remaining. But back-to-back conversions from the guests gave Westminster hope and prevented Wheaton from cruising to victory in easy fashion. A pair of foul shots with one minute to play cut the hosts' lead down to 59-54, but the Thunder's strong performance at the charity stripe helped them see out the win. Wheaton made its last six free throws of the game in the final minute to overcome a pair of turnovers and Blue Jays three-pointers and held on for a hard-fought 65-61 victory. 

The Thunder did not have their best shooting day, particularly from three-point range, but their 14-15 mark at the foul line was crucial to their gritty win. Wheaton finished with a 39% field goal conversion rate and held Westminster to a 32% mark for the game, while the Thunder's 93% figure from the free throw stripe was well ahead of the Blue Jays' 71% tally. The hosts out-rebounded their SLIAC opponents, 45-36, and came away with 12 steals to Westminster's nine. The visitors earned more points off of turnovers than the Thunder did, but Wheaton enjoyed advantages in all other scoring areas on Saturday.

Oliver was key to Wheaton's win, leading all players in scoring, rebounding, and assisting this afternoon. The junior grabbed 11 boards and dished out seven dimes while shooting 50% from open play and going 7-8 at the free throw line, including four clutch makes in the closing seconds to confirm her team's victory. Hunter contributed 14 points in just 16 minutes of play off the bench and helped spark Wheaton's second-half comeback effort with her 7-9 shooting today. Grace Kizer tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, including a game-high five offensive boards and joined Oliver on a 50% shooting performance. Annika Richardson chipped in with nine points, a game-high two blocks, and matched Oliver's total of 11 rebounds. Faberowski took away a joint game-best three steals and grabbed four boards in the win.

After a successful end to the nonconference slate and calendar year, Wheaton now heads into the holiday break and will return to play in two weeks' time. The Thunder are next in action on Saturday, January 4th when third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan comes to King Arena for a 5 PM conference clash.