WHEATON, Ill. – A second-half surge helped the Wheaton College women's basketball team wrap up its non-conference schedule with a 67-48 home victory over the University of Olivet on Wednesday night.
The Thunder improved to 6-8 while the Comets fell to 2-13.
The home team started slow offensively and Olivet took advantage to draw ahead 14-8 midway through the opening quarter. However, Wheaton got some momentum back on a fast-break layup from freshman Lydia Brogan and a trey by senior Grace Kizer.
In the second quarter, Wheaton went ahead 16-14 thanks to sophomore Lauryn Ham's three-pointer. Junior Petra Trumbach scored in the paint to give the Thunder a five-point cushion and their largest lead of the half. Once the halftime buzzer sounded, the hosts headed to the locker room with a 26-24 lead.
Turnovers ended up playing a large role throughout the evening contest. Olivet committed 30 turnovers overall, which led to 32 Wheaton points going the other way. Even when the shots weren't falling early on, the Thunder leaned on their defense to help create points in transition.
Once the third quarter commenced, Wheaton found its stride on offense, converting at a 53-percent clip. The Comets coughed up nine more turnovers in the period and the Thunder were off to the races. Olivet cut the deficit to 34-31, but the home team immediately embarked on a 12-2 run in response. Junior Jenna Hunter contributed six of the team's final eight points of the quarter with her scoring touch down low.
With a double-digit advantage in hand, Wheaton cruised through the fourth quarter and led by as many as 22 down the stretch. Senior Kate Oliver contributed eight-straight points to that cause by draining a three-pointer and sinking five free throws in-a-row.
The final box score saw Wheaton shoot 39 percent from the field (24-62), 21 percent from three-point range (6-29) and 76 percent from the free throw line (13-17). Hunter shot 9 of 14 overall en route to team highs of 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Oliver poured in 19 points and snagged four rebounds. Junior Lily Caddow tallied seven points and Kizer added six points.
On the other side of the court, Olivet made 42 percent of its field goals (18-43), 37 percent of its three-pointers (6-16) and 60 percent of its free throws (6-10). The Comets won the rebounding battle 35-29, but the Thunder held a considerable edge in points in the paint (34-20).
Wheaton resumes conference play at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday with a home contest inside King Arena against No. 16-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University.
