Wheaton, Ill. -- Returning to King Arena after two weeks out on the road, the Thunder women's basketball team played host to the Carthage College Firebirds on Saturday evening in a key conference matchup. With both teams sitting at 3-3 in CCIW play and tied for third place in the standings, tonight's game promised to be a competitive battle, and it lived up to the billing as the visitors from Wisconsin eventually earned a thrilling two-point win in the final seconds of the contest. Carthage's 56-54 victory saw them improve to 12-4 and 4-3 in CCIW action, while Wheaton dropped to an even 8-8 overall on the season following Saturday's heartbreaker.

This evening's game featured the two best scoring defenses in the conference thus far in 2024-25, and both sides' final points tally remained consistent with their opponents' season averages this year. The contest began slowly from an offensive standpoint, as each team made just one basket from open play in the first five minutes. Tonight's leading scorer, Annika Richardson, notched Wheaton's first bucket with a successful jumper to tie the score at 4-4 before the Firebirds mounted an 8-2 run to seize control. But Richardson powered her team's comeback effort with seven points in the last two and a half minutes of the opening period to cut Carthage's lead down to 15-13 heading into the second. Jenna Hunter stepped up with the hosts' first three baskets of the second quarter before a pair of free throws gave the Thunder their first lead of the night at 21-20. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth sprint with the two sides trading points and defensive denials. A three-pointer for Wheaton slimmed Carthage's edge to 25-24, but the visitors responded with a long-range shot of their own. Both teams scored a layup in the lane in the second-to-last minute of the quarter before a Thunder foul shot made it 30-27 in the Firebirds' favor. Richardson came up with a steal on the last possession of the half, but the guests prevented Wheaton from attempting a possible tying three and maintained their three-point lead heading into the break. 

The first half of the third quarter continued the see-saw pattern that was established before the intermission, with Alyssa Faberowski converting a three-pointer to tie the score at 30 apiece before Carthage answered with its own shot from beyond the arc. Wheaton scored five straight to knot the scoreboard up at 35-35, and another triple from Richardson then made it 38-38 with 5:47 left in the third. But the Firebirds showed why they have the conference's best defense to date by not allowing a single Thunder point in the rest of the period and carving out a 43-38 advantage at the end of the quarter. After another five-point Wheaton run cut the visitors' lead down to three, Carthage notched consecutive layups in the paint to pull back ahead by seven points and seemed to be heading towards victory with only four minutes remaining. But the Thunder showed spirit to battle back and tie the score at 50-50 just one minute later with an impressive stretch that was capped by a steal and score from Lily Caddow on a Firebird inbound pass.

Wheaton stopped Carthage again on its next possession, and two Faberowski free throws completed the comeback by nudging the home side in front. But the Firebirds' leading scorer came up with a pivotal three-pointer on the ensuing trip down the floor to make it 53-52 in their favor. Trailing by two with 30 seconds left in regulation, the hosts fed the ball to Kate Oliver in the post, and the junior banked in her turnaround effort to tie the game and get the King Arena crowd on its feet. But Carthage would ultimately have the final say and come out on top in the exciting clash thanks to a converted layup in the paint with just five seconds remaining. Wheaton took a timeout to advance the ball into the Carthage half of the floor, and Richardson was able to create just enough separation from her marker to get off a potential game-winning three-point shot. But this attempt missed the mark and the Thunder's valiant effort came up just short.

The box score statistics reflect the competitive nature of the game, with Carthage making 20 shot attempts to Wheaton's 19, including two more three-pointers, while the Thunder posted superior field goal and free throw percentages through four quarters. The hosts won the rebounding battle, 31-27, but the visitors won the turnover battle by the same margin, forcing 19 and conceding 15. The specific scoring categories were virtually identical for both teams on Saturday, as each side registered 18 points in the paint and points off of turnovers. Wheaton enjoyed marginal advantages in fast break scoring and second chance points, while Carthage just edged out its host in bench scoring.

Annika Richardson had a standout performance tonight, earning her second-consecutive double-double with game-highs of 24 points and ten rebounds while shooting over 50% from the floor. She was the only player to hit three three-pointers in the contest and helped out on the defensive end with two steals and Wheaton's lone shot block. Oliver was also a key contributor for the Thunder, scoring 11 points, grabbing six boards, and leading all players with five assists and three takeaways. Faberowski and Hunter each tallied six points, with the latter making all three of her field goal attempts, while Caddow notched four points and five rebounds.

Wheaton heads back out on the road for its next three games and will not play in King Arena again until a matchup against Elmhurst University on February 5th. The Thunder's three-game road trip begins in Rock Island with a 7 PM contest on Wednesday night against Augustana.