Naperville, Ill. – The No. 6 seeded Wheaton women's basketball team (12-14) advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament with an impressive 75-67 victory against No. 3 North Central College (14-12) on Tuesday night. Wheaton's strong performance in the third quarter tonight was critical to its victory against the Cardinals. Wheaton's advancement to Friday's semifinal session marks the fourth time in the six occasions that the CCIW Tournament went to a six-team format the Wheaton competes in the tournament's semifinals.

The Thunder will face the tournament's No. 1 seed, Carroll (21-4) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Van Male Fieldhouse in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The Carroll-Wheaton winner will face the winner of Friday's other semifinal matchup in Waukesha between No. 4 Carthage ((15-11) and No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan (20-5) in the tournament final at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to the remaining tournament sessions is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+), students and children ages (6+), children ages 5 and under are admitted for free. Students from CCIW institutions are admitted for free with a current CCIW ID. Please note: no passes are accepted to CCIW Championship events.

The first quarter tonight was tightly contested. The game was tied at 12-12 when a Lily Caddow jumper with time winding down allowed the Thunder to hold a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Wheaton led by as many as seven points in the second quarter as junior Jenna Hunter (PICTURED LEFT) scored Wheaton's final eight points in the quarter over a span of 3:25. The Thunder led 35-32 at the halftime intermission. Hunter was sensational in the second period as she scored 13 of Wheaton's 21 points and she also collected a team-high four rebounds.

Hunter led all players with 17 points in the first half and freshman Lydia Brogan added eight points and six rebounds. Kennedy Hartwig led the Cardinals with nine points in the first half and Ameli Sanchez scored seven points.
Wheaton put together a 9-1 run to open its outstanding third quarter as the guests led 44-33 with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. Wheaton led 46-39 with 3:57 remaining in the quarter when senior Grace Kizer drained a three-pointer that sparked a 12-2 Thunder run that extended Wheaton's lead to 58-41 with 1:10 left in the third. Kizer scored six points in the run that also saw her convert a key and-one late in the quarter. Wheaton led the Cardinals by 12 points at the end of the third quarter as the guests held a 58-46 advantage.

Hunter led all players with eight points in the third quarter, followed by Kizer's six points. Brogan and Hunter each tied for Wheaton's rebound lead in the quarter with four apiece. North Central's Cate Uhren scored seven points in the third quarter.
Wheaton led by double digits for the majority of the fourth quarter as the Cardinals did not cut the Thunder lead to single digits until the final minute of the game. Senior Kate Oliver helped Wheaton close out the game with a team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter, also collecting four rebounds. Hartwig led the Cardinals with six points.

Oliver scored 14 second-half points and Hunter tallied 13 as the duo scored 27 of Wheaton's 40 points in the second half.

Wheaton shot 47.7% (31-of-65) from the field in the game, including 14.3% (2-for-14) behind the three-point arc. The Cardinals posted a 35.7% (20-for-56) field goal percentage, including 36.4% (8-for-22) from three-point range. The Thunder shot 78.6% (11-for-14) at the free throw line, while North Central had a 73.1% (19-for-26) effort at the charity stripe tonight. Wheaton out-rebounded the hosts 41-35, including an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass. North Central's 15 turnovers and Wheaton's defense aided the Thunder tonight as the guests out-scored NCC 16-5 in points off turnovers. The Thunder inside game was also crucial as Wheaton out-scored the Cardinals 50-22 in the paint.

Hunter led all players tonight with a career-high 30 points, also collecting a season-high 11 rebounds. Oliver scored 18 points with six rebounds and three assists. Brogan scored 11 points with 11 rebounds in a strong outing for the freshman. Kizer contributed eight points.

Uhren led the Cardinals with 17 points off the NCC bench. Hartwig added 15 points and Sanchez scored 10 points. Jocelyn Trotter grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the hosts.