Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton women's basketball team improved to 4-0 on Saturday afternoon with a 55-53 victory against Maryville (Tenn.) in the final game of the 2026 Beth Baker Classic. Wheaton senior
Jenna Hunter (PICTURED LEFT) was named the tournament's MVP following the game, while her teammate
Paige Ferwerda joined her on the all-tournament team.
Today's matchup had 11 lead changes and was tied 10 times. The larges lead for either team was a seven-point edge for the Scots, while Wheaton's largest lead was a five-point bulge.
Maryville led 27-25 at halftime. Hunter and
Ann Magee Stradinger each scored eight points to lead Wheaton in the first half.
Lydia Brogan and Ferwerda each tallied six rebounds. Leighan Jackson led Maryville with six points off the bench in the first half.
Maryville out-scored Wheaton 8-3 in the first four minutes of the third quarter to jump out to a 35-28 lead with 5:50 remaining in the third. Brogan made a basket with 5:46 left in the third quarter. Brogan's basket sparked a 12-2 Thunder run that was capped off by a Hunter layup that gave Wheaton a 40-37 lead with 2:00 left in the third quarter. The Scots led 41-40 at the end of the third quarter.
The exciting fourth quarter came down to the closing seconds. Stradinger made a three-pointer with 1:29 left in the game to give Wheaton a five-point lead, the largest of the game of the game for the hosts, at 55-50. Maryville's Chloe Powell responded with a three-pointer for the guests to cut Wheaton's lead to 55-53 with 1:05 left in the game. Powell's basket was the final points of the game as strong defenses stood tall, and Wheaton emerged with the 55-53 victory. Stradinger scored nine of Wheaton's 15 points in the fourth quarter and freshman
Claire Emery added the hosts' other six points in the quarter.
Stradinger led all players with 21 points as she shot 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Hunter scored 15 points with five rebounds and two assists. Ferwerda and Emery each scored six points, while Emery grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Ferwerda collected eight boards.
Lily Caddow had a game-high five assists.
The Thunder shot 36.8% (21-of-57) from the field tonight, including 41.7% (5-for-12) from three-point range. The Scots shot a 30.5% (18-of-59) field goal percentage, including 20% (5-for-25) from behind the three-point arc. The hosts had a 72.7% (8-for-11) effort at the free throw line and Maryville shot 75% (12-for-16) at the charity stripe.
Wheaton out-rebounded the Scots 43-35, including a 13-11 edge on the offensive glass. The largest Thunder advantage for Wheaton tonight came inside as the hosts out-scored Maryville 30-18 in the paint.
Wheaton remains at home next Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against Ripon College in King Arena.
