Wheaton, Ill. - A high-intensity final 10 minutes helped rally the Wheaton College women's basketball team to a 66-62 upset victory over No. 16-ranked Carthage College on Wednesday.

The Thunder improved to 8-3 on the season, winning its fourth-straight game and conference opener in the process. The Lady Reds, ranked 16th by D3Hoops.com, fell to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in CCIW play.

The first half ended up playing fairly evenly as both teams had their hot streaks. Carthage scored 11 straight points at one points to gain a 19-11 lead. But Wheaton immediately followed up with an 18-5 run of its own. The hosts went into halftime up 30-28.

With the slim lead in hand, Wheaton acting head coach Kent Madsen knew that the visitors would come out swinging in the second stanza.

"We knew going into the half with the lead that Carthage was going to come back and show some intensity to start the half and really want to battle to get back in the game," Madsen said. "And they did. They did a great job of taking it to us at the start of the second half."

That prediction came true. The Lady Reds started to find their offensive flow right away with base line cutters and lane penetration that resulted in dump offs to the open post. Simultaneously, Wheaton went cold for the first six minutes of the half. The Thunder were bothered by Carthage's inbounds press and started to force shots and settle for long jumpers. With 13:52 left in the game, the hosts found themselves down 47-33.

From that point on, Wheaton started to turn up the heat defensively. The Thunder defenders hustled to body up the Carthage players and started to collapse effectively on the post. Post entry pass denials were critical as the Lady Reds could no longer get easy points in the paint.

Senior post Kelly Brooks found her offensive groove with her face to the basket game, and fellow senior forward Annie Bowen showed tenacity on the boards to keep possessions alive. Soon enough, a 19-2 run commenced that regained Wheaton a 52-49 lead with 7:36 left in the game.

"I felt like our ladies did really well was they just kept their composure," Madsen said. "They understood there was going to be a little bit of a letdown [after halftime], but that they'd fight through it and persevere and show some mental toughness."

Neither team could find their range from distance, combining to shoot 9 of 35 (25.7 percent) for the game from beyond the arc. So the battle in the paint would be even more important. Wheaton won the rebounding battle 41-32 for the game, thanks partly to foul trouble that plagued Carthage's leading scorer Diana Jacklin. The 6-foot center blocked five shots and made five steals; but she was held to 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out with 1:21 remaining in the game.

WIth Jacklin gone and time running out, the Lady Reds relied on guard Heather Gilmore to drive the lane, create contact and get to the free throw line. Multiple misses turned into multiple offensive rebounds, but Dani Ripkey's subsequent foray into the lane was called a travel, giving Wheaton the ball back up two points with 14 seconds remaining. From there, Lindsey Brenneman hit four-straight free throws on the next two possessions to ice the game by a final score of 66-62.

"Whenever you face a team as highly ranked as Carthage, that's a big win," Madsen said. "I couldn't be more pleased for our ladies. Just because you always want to see your seniors have moments like that where there are special moments that happen their senior year. Kelly Brooks and Annie Bowen both played outstanding. To see their hard work benefitted with a win is always nice to see as a coach. I just think that it's always nice to see a team that is working hard and then is rewarded for that hard work."

The Thunder was held to 33 percent shooting on the game (16-for-48) from the field and 29 percent from three-point range (5-for-17). The free throw line was where Wheaton excelled, making 29-for-35 (83 percent). Laura Karsten came up big with 15 points and seven rebounds. Brenneman added 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Brooks contributed 10 points and six rebounds while Bowen tallied eight points and six rebounds.

The Lady Reds shot 38 percent (22-for-58) from the field and 22 percent (4-for-18) from beyond the arc. Finished 14-for-19 at the charity stripe (74 percent). Gilmore 16 points and seven rebounds. Cailee Corcoran and Kristi Schmidt 10 points each.