Naperville, Ill. – The Thunder women's basketball team earned a convincing 109-60 victory at North Central tonight in a battle for first place in the CCIW. Wheaton entered tonight's matchup ranked 16th in this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 poll and North Central (18-2, 7-2 CCIW) is ranked 21st in the same poll. Wheaton sweeps the regular season series with the Cardinals thanks to tonight's win as the Thunder have given North Central its only two losses this year.
Wheaton now holds sole possession of first place in the CCIW with an 8-1 conference record and an 18-2 overall record. The Thunder will host North Park on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in King Arena.
The Thunder took an early 11-2 lead in tonight's contest with the high-scoring Cardinals and remained in control throughout the game. The Thunder maintained control of the game through the entire first half as Wheaton's largest lead of the opening half was the 31-point advantage in the 62-31 Thunder lead at halftime. Wheaton shot 58.7% (27-for-46) from the field in the first half, including seven three-pointers on 58.3% (7-for-12) shooting behind the three-point arc. Wheaton continued to dominate in the second half as the Thunder left Naperville with the 49-point win.
Wheaton head coach Kent Madsen stated of his team, "I think that the way our girls moved the ball tonight gave a lot of our player's opportunities for open looks." He added I thought all of our entire team played well tonight."
Hannah Considine continued her superb play against the Cardinals with 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field. The junior grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Moriah Reeves scored 18 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and four assists. Chantal Meacham scored 18 points with a game-high six assists.
Wheaton recorded a 49.1% (43-for-87) field goal percentage tonight, including 42.1% (8-for-19) from three-point range and the guests shot 71.4% (15-for-21) at the free throw line. Wheaton's 34 assists tonight is the second-highest single-game total in program history and is tied for the 11th-highest total in Division III history.
North Central shot 29.5% (23-for-78) from the field, with 13.6% (6-for-44) behind the three-point arc and 53.3% (8-for-15) at the charity stripe. Wheaton out-rebounded the Cardinals 69-36, with a 25-14 edge on the offensive glass.
Tess Godhart Corrine Rowe each scored 12 points to lead North Central. Mayson Whipple added 11 points for the hosts.