The North Central College women's basketball team threatened to shoot Wheaton College out of Gregory Arena early in Saturday's matchup, but the 23rd-ranked Thunder bounced back with a strong third-quarter effort and left with a 98-85 victory over the Cardinals.

North Central (10-10, 4-5 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) made 11 of 25 three-point attempts in the first half and carried a 45-39 advantage into halftime, but the Thunder put together a 16-6 run over the final 4:49 of the third period to pull in front for good and remain tied with Illinois Wesleyan University for first place in the CCIW standings.

The Cardinals got off to a slow start coming out of the gate, as Wheaton (15-4, 7-2 CCIW) took a 11-3 lead after four minutes of play. Consecutive three-pointers by Jamie Cuny and Siarra O'Neil tied the score at 11-11, and after the Thunder's Hannah Considine converted a layup, North Central's Mayson Whipple scored the final five points of the first quarter in a 22-second span to put the hosts ahead, 16-13, at the first break.

The Cardinals' lead grew as large as 11 points at 34-23 midway through the second quarter. Trailing, 39-32, Wheaton closed the gap to just two points on a Kelly Thornton three-pointer and two free throws from Considine, though North Central followed with back-to-back triples from Therese Pettersson andAnita Sterling in the final 1:16.

The Thunder tied the score within the first minute of the second half, as Chantal Meacham sank a pair of three-pointers, and took the lead briefly on three occasions before North Central edged back in front, 56-55, following Paula Zerante's layup with 5:04 on the third-quarter clock. Kelly Thornton's layup got Wheaton's pivotal rally started, and fast-break layups by Kelly Lawson and Natalie Rose Brogan followed to put the Thunder up, 61-56. Miranda Grizaffi cut the lead to 61-59 with a three-pointer, but Wheaton followed with threes from Meacham and Lawson, then extended its lead to 71-60 after layups by Meacham and Katie McDaniels. North Central entered the fourth period facing a 71-62 deficit.

The Cardinals threatened to mount a comeback on two occasions in the final 10 minutes, first getting two three-pointers in a nine-second span early in the period as Michaela Reedy knocked down the first and Zerante drilled the second after a steal by Erica Buck, leaving the lead at just 73-70. Wheaton scored the next five points to keep the hosts at bay and pulled ahead, 84-73, before a 10-3 North Central run cut the gap to 87-83 after Whipple's three-pointer. The Cardinals, however, went scoreless for the next 2:38 and Wheaton scored 10 straight points to put the contest away.

Whipple finished the game with a career-high 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, along with nine assists. Cuny added 13 points, while Pettersson pulled down seven rebounds.

McDaniels finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists for Wheaton, while Lawson totaled 22 points and 17 rebounds and Considine finished with 19 points and 14 boards.

The Cardinals travel to face Augustana College (9-11, 4-5) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Carver Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.