Wheaton, Ill. -- After starting its season with a pair of wins in California last weekend, the Wheaton women's basketball team took to the King Arena court for the first time in 2026-27 on Friday. The Thunder faced The University of Olivet in its opening game of this year's Beth Baker Classic, marking the second-consecutive campaign in which the Michigan squad has traveled to Wheaton. Just as they did in January, the Thunder earned a comfortable double-digit victory over their MIAA opponents tonight, leading wire-to-wire en route to a lopsided 74-38 success. Wheaton moves to 3-0 on the year with Friday's win while Olivet slips to 0-2.
The Thunder led by 10 points at halftime before a one-sided third quarter created significant separation on the scoreboard. The final result proved to be Wheaton's largest margin of victory since a 78-42 win at Elmhurst University in February of 2023. Additionally, 38 points is the fewest that the team has allowed since a 58-36 victory at Concordia University Wisconsin two years ago.
Two Beth Baker Classic records were matched on Friday, as Wheaton's strong defensive effort resulted in some noteworthy numbers. The Thunder equaled their own tournament record of 20 steals that was originally set 10 years ago in a 90-33 rout of Blackburn College. Seven of those takeaways came from sophomore guard
Paige Ferwerda, who tied the individual single-game mark that was established by a Wisconsin-Whitewater player back in 2006.
Wheaton held Olivet to a 29.6% field goal tally and a 2-15 mark from beyond the arc this evening. The Comets posted a 54.5% shooting figure in the second quarter but could only muster a 6-28 total after halftime. The home side shot 42% from the floor and went 4-8 from three-point land during their third quarter surge. Wheaton's advantage in physicality played a key role in Friday's win, as the Thunder forced 27 turnovers, grabbed 45 rebounds, and blocked 10 shots. The hosts' ball movement and unselfish offensive play also impressed this evening, with Wheaton earning 21 assists from nine different players. Fast break scoring and points off of turnovers proved decisive, as the Thunder registered respective edges of 17-2 and 33-8 in those categories.
14 players saw time on the court for Wheaton in tonight's victory.
Lily Caddow led all scorers with 14 points from 6-8 shooting and tallied five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. In addition to her seven takeaways, Ferwerda contributed 13 points, a game-high five assists, two rejections, and eight boards, five of which came on the offensive glass. Reigning CCIW Player of the Week
Jenna Hunter had another strong outing, going for 12 points, three blocks, and leading all players with nine rebounds.
Lydia Brogan registered six steals, four dimes, and two blocks, while
Petra Trumbach chipped in with eight boards and four takeaways.
After a pair of scoreless possessions at either end, Brogan notched the first points of the game from a three-ball before Olivet got on the board with a layup in the lane two minutes in. But Wheaton held the Comets scoreless for the next five minutes of play and mounted a 7-0 run to build a 10-2 advantage.
Claire Emery drained a jumper to set the score at 12-4 before two Olivet baskets in the paint came either side of a Hunter layup, as the Thunder took a 14-8 lead into the second quarter.
Both teams began the second frame slowly on the offensive end, but Wheaton eventually tallied six of the next eight points to carve out its first double-digit lead at 20-10. The two sides traded baskets over the next five minutes before Olivet trimmed the deficit down to seven via another layup in the lane with 90 seconds remaining in the half. Two Thunder free throws were followed by a successful foul shot on the opposite side before a Trumbach steal and a Ferwerda basket in transition beat the horn and restored Wheaton's 10-point edge at the break.
The Michigan visitors emerged from the locker room believing that it was still anyone's game. But the competitive nature of the contest ebbed away following a third quarter that was one-way traffic. Wheaton outscored its guest, 25-6, to permanently pull away and maintain its perfect start to the new season. The Thunder did not concede a basket until the 3:25 mark of the third frame and began the period on a 16-0 run that featured three-pointers on four consecutive possessions to get the sizable King Arena crowd on its feet. Emery tallied five straight points, and a basket from Hunter gave Wheaton a 32-point lead before the Comets ended the quarter with a triple of their own.
A 14-0 scoring run to start the fourth quarter ballooned the hosts' advantage up to 71-28 before Olivet closed out proceedings with 10 of the game's last 13 points to slightly trim the Thunder's final margin of victory.
Wheaton celebrated an impressive start to its home slate with a resounding win and now faces a short turnaround ahead of its next test. The Thunder will close out the 2026 Beth Baker Classic against Maryville College at 4 PM on Saturday. The Scots fell, 79-58, to Elmhurst in this evening's tournament-opener.
