Bloomington, Ill. – The Wheaton women's basketball team wrapped up its 2024-25 campaign on Friday night in a semifinal contest of the 2025 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament. The No. 2 seed Carroll University Pioneers (18-8) defeated the fourth-seeded Thunder 89-54. Wheaton concludes the season with a 15-12 record.

Senior standout Annika Richardson led the Thunder with 14 points in her final game in 'Orange and Blue', making a pair of three-pointers. Junior Kate Oliver added 11 points with five rebounds, and three assists. Senior Alexis Martin scored seven points, while Grace Kizer and Lily Caddow each contributed six points.
Carroll held a narrow one-point lead at 14-13 with 2:00 left in the first quarter following a pair of free throws by Martin. The Pioneers responded with seven-unanswered points to take a 20-13 lead with 1:00 left in the first quarter, however, Martin made a three-pointer to trim the Carroll lead to 20-16. Carroll maintained the 20-16 lead at the conclusion of the opening quarter.

Richardson made a three-pointer in the opening minute of the second quarter followed by a Kizer trey to give the Thunder a 22-20 lead with 8:10 left in the second quarter. Richardson made another three-pointer with 7:13 remaining in the first half to extend Wheaton's lead to 26-22. The four-point advantage was Wheaton's largest lead of the game. Carroll took a timeout after the Richardson trifecta and the Pioneers responded with 16-unanswered points to gain a 38-26 lead with 2:25 left. The run allowed the Carroll to lead 40-30 at the halftime intermission.

Carroll led 49-36 with 6:45 left in the third quarter when the Pioneers again shut out the Thunder for a long stretch. Carroll's 13-0 run increased the Pioneers' lead to 62-36 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. The run and Carroll's strong third quarter put the game out of reach.

Carroll shot a blistering 56.7 % (34-of-60) from the field tonight, including 50% (8-of-16) from three-point range. Wheaton posted a 35.7% (20-of-56) field goal percentage, including 24% (6-of-25) behind the three-point arc. Carroll shot 86.7% (13-of-15) at the free throw line, while the Thunder had a 72.7% (8-of-11) at the charity stripe. The Pioneers out-rebounded Wheaton 37-28, with a 7-5 edge of the Thunder on the offensive glass.

Olivia Rangel, the 2025 CCIW Student-Athlete of the Year in women's basketball, led all players with 23 points and she distributed eight assists. Natalie Gricius contributed 17 points, with six rebounds for the Pioneers. Emilie Wizner scored 14 points, while Chloe Halverson and Katie Barger each tallied 10 points.

Note Worthy: Richardson caps her career with 1,213 career points to finish 10^th on Wheaton's all-time-scoring list…Richardson's 621 career rebounds is ninth on Wheaton's all-time caroms list…she is fifth on the all-time three-pointers list with 163 made treys in her career…Oliver's outstanding junior season has helped move her onto the program's all-time points list with 866, a tally that puts her 31^st all-time.