Waukesha, Wis. -- A tricky three-game stretch came to an end for the Wheaton women's basketball team this evening, as the Thunder rounded out their run of matchups against top-20 opposition with a trip to face the 20th-ranked Carroll Pioneers. The home side, currently tied for the conference lead atop the CCIW standings, cruised to an 83-39 result to hand Wheaton its third-consecutive defeat at the hands of nationally-ranked rivals. The Thunder's record is now an even 11-11 on the year and 4-9 in CCIW action.

The visitors' top performer on the night, Annie Tate, opened the scoring with a jumper in the lane, but Carroll registered the next eight points to establish an early cushion. A three-pointer on the run with just over a minute left in the opening quarter gave the Pioneers a 20-8 lead, and the hosts led by double-digits for the remainder of the contest. The Thunder outscored their favored opponents 13-10 in the third quarter, but the Pios had too much in the tank for their Illinois travelers to compete with on the night and were able to see out a comfortable victory.

The visitors had a difficult game from the field but outperformed Carroll at the free throw line thanks to Tate's perfect 9-9 tally from the stripe. The Pioneers posted a solid 48.5% shooting figure in the game, including making ten of their 15 attempts in the first quarter. Wheaton limited Carroll to only three triples in the contest as neither side had great success from beyond the arc. Both teams earned 13 second chance points, but the hosts enjoyed significant advantages in the other box score statistical categories.

Tate led all players this evening with 21 points and grabbed a joint game-high eight rebounds. The senior was the only Thunder player to knock down multiple threes in the game and also earned two steals. Jenna Hunter contributed eight points and three boards and shot over 50% from the floor once again. Alyssa Faberowski joined Hunter on three rebounds and scored five points, while Annika Richardson claimed five boards.

Wheaton will travel to nearby Elmhurst University on Saturday afternoon for its final road game of the regular season in a contest with significant CCIW Tournament qualification implications. The Thunder will then finish up their regular season slate with home games against Carthage and North Park next week.