Naperville, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's basketball team scored 20-straight points in the first half en route to a 72-54 victory at North Central College on Saturday.

The Thunder improved to 16-7 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Cardinals fell to 6-17, 0-12 in the CCIW.

In the last game between the two teams, Wheaton hit 14 of 27 from three-point range to come away with the win on January 14. On Saturday night, the Thunder were just as hot from deep, making 10 of 20 from long distance on the night.

The visitors broke the game open with a 20-0 run that included four three-pointers to take a 25-8 lead. From there, Wheaton led at one point 31-12 before North Central chipped away to get within g 38-24 at halftime.

The Cardinals got within eight points (40-32) in the second half, but the Thunder quickly pushed the lead back into double digits the rest of the way.

Wheaton ended up shooting 27 of 55 from the field (49 percent), 10 of 20 from three-point range (50 percent) and 8 of 10 from the charity stripe (80 percent). Breanna Bohlen was the leading scorer with 18 points off the bench, which included 7 of 10 shooting and 4 of 4 from three. Lauren Graham  was also productive off the bench with 12 points and nine rebounds. Maris Hovee held her own in the middle with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

North Central was held to 19 of 59 shooting in the game (32 percent), 9 of 26 from beyond the arc (35 percent) and 7 of 8 on free throws (88 percent). Sophie Newson's 16 points led the team.

Wheaton returns home next Saturday for a 6 PM game versus North Park University.