LISLE, IL - The Benedictine University women's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season and the era of head coach Oliver Wiseman with a competitive loss to 11th-ranked Wheaton, kicking off a gauntlet non-conference schedule.

FINAL SCORE
#11 Wheaton 60, Benedictine 53

THE DETAILS
• With the teams feeling each other out for the first half of the opening quarter, Wheaton held an 11-8 lead with 4:24 to play in the first 10 minutes
• Benedictine did not allow another point for the remainder of the quarter, notching six straight to take a 14-11 lead after one
• Britney Pitzer, Alex Fanning and Sara Smith all scored during the run
• Pitzer kicked off the second quarter with a three-pointer to stretch the run to 9-0 and the lead to 17-11
• The three-pointer was the only make of the entire game for Benedictine
• Wheaton finally scored, breaking a stretch over over six minutes without a point
• Benedictine opened a nine-point lead at 22-13 following a three-point play from Claire Gibler with 6:16 to go in the half
• The visitors used a 9-0 run to open a 26-24 lead just before the half but Brilan McCory hit a jumper in the final minute to send the game to the break even at 26
• Wheaton kept Benedictine scoreless for over five minutes in the third, building a six-point lead
• Benedictine responded with eight straight to move ahead 38-36 on a jumper from Gibler and the game headed to the fourth tied at 41
• Wheaton opened the fourth quarter with 11 straight points and led 54-43 before Benedictine started to rally midway through the quarter
• Gibler brought Benedictine within 55-53 with just over a minute remaining but the outside shooting woes continued, allowing Wheaton to put the game away

STAT LEADERS
• Fanning finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds over 33 minutes in her first action since the 2019-20 season; Gibler tallied 11
• Benedictine blocked five shots but were outrebounded 44-39
• The team finished just 1-for-27 from three-point range and 8-20 at the free throw line
• Benedictine shot 34.4 percent for the game while Wheaton shot 44.4 percent including over 50 percent in the second half
• The contest featured eight ties and seven lead changes
• Benedictine scored 40 points in the paint

UP NEXT
Benedictine (0-1) heads to Wisconsin this weekend to meet UW-Stevens Point on Friday and #18 UW-Whitewater on Saturday.