Bloomington, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's basketball team traveled south on Saturday afternoon looking to earn their second conference win of the season against a talented Illinois Wesleyan squad. Despite seeing their slim halftime lead turn into an eight-point deficit in the third quarter, the Thunder rallied in the final frame to eventually earn a 63-57 win on the road. Wheaton's record now stands at 7-3 overall and 2-1 in CCIW play heading into the Christmas break.

The hosting Titans, led by three-time CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week Lauren Huber, defeated Wheaton in both regular season meetings last year, and the visitors knew they would need to bring their A-game to earn a win in Bloomington today. Points were slow to arrive as the game got underway, with both teams scoring only four in the opening five minutes. Two free throws from Ellie Cassel pushed Wheaton ahead at 10-9, but a five-point run by the home side saw IWU claim a 14-10 edge at the end of the first quarter. Two layups in the paint by the Thunder to begin the second period knotted the scoreboard back up, and the squads were level at 19 points apiece heading into the final three minutes of the first half. A pair of foul shots for the hosts made it appear as though the Titans would seize the halftime advantage, but big baskets from the freshman combo of Kate Oliver and Anna Fernandez helped Wheaton jump back in front in the final minute, and the Thunder entered the locker room with a narrow 24-23 edge.

The third quarter saw the home side surge back in front after mounting a seven-point run to claim a 30-26 lead, and Illinois Wesleyan's largest advantage of the half came at the midway point of the frame when the Titans went up 37-29. But a significant turning point in the contest saw the Thunder respond effectively with three straight baskets of their own to work their way back into the game. A jumper by Oliver trimmed IWU's lead down to 41-40 with just over a minute to play in the quarter, but the Titans registered the final five points of the period to maintain the momentum heading into the final quarter. 

Fernandez drilled a clutch three-ball to open the scoring in the fourth frame, and after IWU answered back by building a 49-43 advantage, Kate Oliver stepped up to earn five unanswered points for the visitors to prevent an Illinois Wesleyan pull-away. A minute later, fellow freshman Fernandez dropped in a layup in the lane to put Wheaton ahead by one point, and Illinois Wesleyan never reclaimed the lead the rest of the way. With the exception of a bucket in the paint by Caylee Hermanson in the last two minutes, Oliver and Fernandez scored all of Wheaton's points in the fourth quarter. The Titans tallied five straight points in the final minute to set up a nervy finish, but the Thunder came up with pairs of important defensive rebounds and free throws to close out the key win.

Wheaton's shooting percentage increased significantly after halftime, and the visitors saved their best for last, connecting on 60% of their attempts in the fourth quarter to enable the comeback. Illinois Wesleyan went ice cold from the field in both the second and fourth periods, going 1-14 and 3-19, respectively, for a disappointing 26.2% total shooting mark. The Titans out-rebounded their guests on the day, but Wheaton won the turnover battle by forcing 20 mistakes from their hosts. The Thunder dominated the paint on Saturday, scoring 34 points in the lane to IWU's 16. Wheaton also did a better job of turning their takeaways into scores, registering 13 points off of turnovers and limiting Illinois Wesleyan to just four in the same category.

Kate Oliver, who accounted for all but four of the Thunder's 25 bench points, earned a career-high and game-leading point total in the win, and the rookie from Virginia also secured a joint team-best eight rebounds and nabbed two steals in her 28 minutes on the floor. Anna Fernandez was Wheaton's next-highest scorer with 14 points and contributed a team-high four takeaways. Caroline Sikkink hit double-figures with ten points and joined Oliver on eight boards. Annika Richardson grabbed seven rebounds and stole the ball twice, while Lily Schwen once again led the team in assists with seven to her name.

After enjoying a holiday respite, the Wheaton women's team will head back out on the road on December 29th and 30th for a non-conference tournament hosted by Loras College in Iowa. The Thunder are set to face UW-Stevens Point in a 2 PM semifinal on Thursday the 29th.