WHEATON, Ill. – Kate Oliver took the game over in the fourth quarter to lead the Wheaton College women's basketball team to a 70-65 victory against North Central College on Saturday.
The Thunder improved to 14-11 overall and 9-7 in the CCIW. The Cardinals concluded their season at 10-15 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Thunder head into the CCIW Tournament as the No. 4 seed. They will host No. 5 seed Elmhurst University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup.
On Senior Night inside King Arena, Wheaton trailed by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. After a three-pointer by senior Annika Richardson, Kate Oliver provided the scoring punch to rally her squad. The junior guard netted 13 of her team's next 15 points to turn a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead. Her aggressiveness in the paint led to four layups and five converted free throws.
Oliver's final point of the night put the Thunder up 68-65 with just over a minute left in the game. North Central was held scoreless the rest of the way as free throws by sophomore Lily Caddow and junior Grace Kizer provided the insurance cushion at the end.
At the game's onset, the Cardinals efficiently executed their offense and made more than half their field goals in the first quarter. NCC led by as many as seven in the opening stanza, but Wheaton found its footing in the second quarter and soon tied things up at 20-20. The visitors went into halftime with a 32-29 advantage.
Down 43-35 in third quarter, Richardson swished a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a trey from Kizer. Just like that, Wheaton was ahead and soon held a 48-43 lead thanks to 13 unanswered points.
But the Cardinals got hot from long range again and countered with a huge 17-2 run of their own that carried into the fourth quarter, setting up Oliver's eventual heroics.
In the final box score, Oliver poured in 22 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field while also snagging 10 rebounds. Richardson posted a double-double of her own with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with a team-high four steals. Kizer was next highest in the scoring column with eight points. Senior Alexis Martin and Caddow accounted for seven points apiece.
Wheaton's effort was aided by a sizable 45-30 rebounding advantage. However, the hosts trailed in the turnover category 18-11. The Thunder shot 44 percent from the field, 26 percent from three-point range (5-19) and 65 percent from the free throw line (17-26).
North Central was limited to 39 percent shooting on field goals, as well as 37 percent from long range (6-16) and 62 percent at the charity stripe (13-21). Jocelyn Trotter paced the Cardinals with 12 points and four steals.
