Claremont, Calif. - The Wheaton women's basketball team wrapped up their time in Southern California this evening with a 53-47 victory at Pomona-Pitzer, bringing their win streak against the Sagehens to five. The Thunder are now 2-0 this season, having opened the season with two back-to-back victories on the road.
The Sagehens held a narrow lead until the end of the first quarter, when Wheaton edged ahead 11-10 off a three-pointer from junior Lauryn Ham. However, the game remained close, with the lead alternating a total of 11 times throughout the contest, and the second and third quarters ending with Wheaton behind with scores of 16-18 and 27-33, respectively. The Thunder came out strong in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points and ultimately defeating the Sagehens with a final score of 53-47 thanks to the fourth quarter rally.
16 of those 26 fourth-quarter points came from senior guard Lily Caddow, who scored a game high of 23 points, tying her career high. Caddow also had seven rebounds, four steals and an assist, shooting 90% (9-of-10) at the free throw line and 46.2% (6-of-13) from the field. Not far behind in points was senior forward Jenna Hunter, who scored 18 points and had eight rebounds with a 57.1% (8-for-14) field goal percentage. Also instrumental to the Thunder were Petra Trumbach and Chloe Kostka, who had eight and five rebounds, respectively, with Kostka also registering two assists and three steals.
Reflective of the close game, Wheaton and Pomona-Pitzer were evenly matched in stats. Both teams shot 33.3% from the field, Wheaton with 18-for-54 shooting and Pomona-Pitzer with a 16-for-48 effort from the field. The Sagehens held the lead for 49.4% of the game and out-shot the Thunder at the free throw line with 13-of-21 compared to Wheaton's 12-of-22 at the line. However, the Thunder topped the Sagehens in rebounds, registering 39 boards to the hosts' 34, and Wheaton out-shot Pomona-Pitzer at the three-point line, shooting 25% to the Sagehens 15.4%.
The Thunder will enjoy almost a week off, returning to play for the Beth Baker classic next weekend in King Arena. They will kick off the tournament competing against the University of Olivet on Friday, November 13, at 7:00 PM in King Arena.
