Wheaton, Ill. -- Returning to the King Arena court for the third-consecutive time, the Wheaton women's basketball team welcomed Augustana College to town for its penultimate home game of the regular season on Wednesday night. Matched up against the best scoring defense in the conference and an opponent that had already beaten them this year, the Thunder put on a late show in tonight's contest, coming back from four points down in the final eight seconds of regulation to force overtime and eventually claim a noteworthy 82-72 win. Wheaton's record improves to 9-13 overall and 5-8 in league play with Wednesday's victory, while Augustana slips to 10-12 with a 5-8 mark in CCIW competition, as well. The two sides are now
tied in the standings for the final conference tournament qualification spot with three games remaining in the regular season schedule.
The visiting Vikings came into this matchup giving up an average of just under 60 points per game, a mark that leads the CCIW this season. But after being held to 46 points in last month's meeting in Rock Island, the Thunder erupted for 82 in tonight's contest, including an impressive 23 points in the fourth quarter and 14 in the overtime period. This scoring total is the highest for the program since an 83-63 victory over North Park in the final game of the 2023-24 campaign, and Wednesday's result marks Wheaton's first overtime victory since an 84-81 success at Pomona-Pitzer in December 2023.
The first quarter set the tone for an offensive matchup, as the two teams combined for 35 points. A three-pointer by
Lauryn Ham (
pictured right) got Wheaton on the board with an early lead, and the sophomore drained her
second of the game two minutes later to give the hosts a 9-6 edge four minutes in. Augie sank three-straight shot attempts and kept the Thunder scoreless from open play to claim a 13-12 tilt, before consecutive baskets in the paint restored the home side's momentum. But the western Illinois travelers closed the first frame on a 5-1 stretch to build a narrow 18-17 lead heading into the second.
Ham dropped in her third triple of the night early in the second period to kick-start a 7-0 Wheaton surge, and the Thunder's defense came to the fore, as the hosts limited the Vikings to just two points in the first seven minutes of the quarter. Augustana did enough defensively at the other end to prevent Wheaton from creating permanent separation on the scoreboard, however, and a 6-0 run by the Vikings in the final 1:45 of the half sent the squads into the locker room knotted up at 28 points apiece.
The two sides began the second half by trading free throws and two-point shots. The visitors held the lead for most of the third quarter but were unable to carve out an advantage larger than five points, as Wheaton forced turnovers and rebounded effectively to stay in the game. Trailing 38-33 with 4:20 to play in the period, the hosts came up with a 6-2 run capped by two free throws from
Lydia Brogan (
pictured left) that brought the Thunder back within one point. A three-ball by Augustana ended this boost, but Wheaton responded with another 6-2 sequence via strong interior play to tie the score at 45-45. Two more foul shots for the guests gave Augie a two-point edge heading into the final quarter.
The fourth frame was the highest scoring period of Wednesday's matchup, as the two teams combined for 44 points. The Vikings led for the entire quarter until the final possession and went up by six points on three occasions. But the Thunder dug deep and refused to back down in a game they knew would have significant ramifications in the race for CCIW Tournament qualification. Augustana capitalized on a fast break opportunity and laid the ball in to establish a 63-57 lead with 90 seconds left to play. But the freshman
Chloe Kostka, who saw the court for only six minutes this evening, embraced the role of super sub and single handedly brought Wheaton back from the brink with three huge shots in the final stretch.
The Texas native drilled the first of her clutch triples to make it 63-60 and splashed another contested three-ball in one minute later to bring the Thunder within two points following a pair of Augustana free throws. Wheaton fouled Augie with 12 seconds left in regulation, and the shooter kept her nerve to put her side back up by four points. But after a Wheaton timeout advanced the ball past half-court, the Vikings once again failed to contain the hot hand of Kostka, and the rookie dropped in her third-straight three-pointer to make it 67-66 in the visitors' favor. Another foul sent the same Viking to the line for two more shots, and she made the first attempt but missed the second, giving Wheaton the chance to tie or win the game outright with six seconds to play.
Augustana surprisingly elected to foul
Kate Oliver as she brought the ball up the floor, pushing the Thunder into the bonus and giving their top free throw shooter the opportunity to tie up the scoreline from the stripe. The veteran Oliver coolly sank both high-pressure shots to make it 68-68 and cap a remarkable 5-1 scoring swing for Wheaton in just six seconds of game time. Augustana nearly threw the game away in regulation, as the Thunder stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and had a mid-range look at a game-winner. But this attempt just missed the mark and Wheaton found itself heading to overtime for the first time all season.
The Thunder seized upon this sudden wave of momentum in front of their noisy home crowd and dominated the overtime period en route to a convincing ten-point win. Wheaton held Augustana to a 1-9 shooting mark in the extra frame while making five of its eight attempts and three free throws to log a decisive 14-4 disparity on the scoreboard. Ham's fourth three-pointer of the game gave the hosts a five-point edge early in the period. While the Vikings managed to get back within three thanks to another pair of foul shots, Wheaton closed the night on a 7-0 run, blanking its visitor across the last three minutes of play to pick up a dramatic and crucial CCIW win.
Both squads shot exactly 40% from the field on Wednesday, as Augie posted a 45% average in regulation but fell off dramatically in overtime and Wheaton improved its percentages in each frame as the game wore on. The Thunder attempted twice as many three-pointers as the Vikings and made seven triples compared to Augustana's four. The Vikings enjoyed an excellent performance at the foul line with a 20-24 mark, while the hosts made 19 of their 27 free throws. Wheaton out-rebounded Augustana by three on the offensive glass to end the game with 42 total boards to the guests' 41.
Turnovers played a key role in tonight's matchup, as the Thunder forced 19 while committing just 11 of their own and grabbed an impressive 12 steals compared to only three for the Vikings. The away side tallied small advantages in bench production and points in the paint, while the hosts led in points off of turnovers and built a 16-6 advantage in fast break scoring.
Oliver put up a season-best 24 points tonight to lead all scorers, brought down nine rebounds, and set a new career-high with eight assists while also going 8-10 at the charity stripe in a headline performance. Ham finished with 19 points and sank a game-high four three-pointers, while Brogan earned her first career double-double with 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. The freshman also led Wheaton with three blocked shots this evening. Kostka contributed nine points, all of which came from three-pointers in the last 1:20 of regulation, and she finished the night with a perfect 3-3 shooting mark.
Petra Trumbach registered six points, two assists, two steals, and matched Oliver on nine boards.
Jenna Hunter tallied six rebounds and a career-best six takeaways.
After logging back-to-back home wins, the Thunder will head into the Windy City on Saturday for a 2 PM contest at North Park University.
