Late Threes Lift Wheaton Over Women's Basketball

WHEATON, Ill. – It was a thrilling Friday night non-conference battle for the Concordia Wisconsin women's basketball team at a traditional regional power, Wheaton. The Thunder were able to protect their home court with a 59-49 victory and send the Falcons to 4-5 on the year and improve to 7-3.

The Thunder stormed out to an early 16-2 lead on Thursday evening.

Freshman Jayden Ross (Baraboo, Wis.) scored the first eight points for the Falcons.

The Orange and Blue held a 19-11 lead after the first quarter with nine points coming from the free throw line for the Falcons.

The Falcons used a 14-3 run to get back into the contest. A layup from senior Erin Viergutz (Clintonville, Wis.) cut the Wheaton lead to 19-16.

The Thunder pushed the lead up to 28-20 after a trio of three-point baskets. The Falcon once again continued to fight back and did so in the paint with three layups to end the first half. A pair of layups from junior Aubrey DeBauch (Gillett, Wis.) made it a one-possession game at halftime, at 29-26.

Wheaton once again pushed the lead up to seven points with 2:25 left in the third quarter. The birds responded with back-to-back baskets from Aubrey DeBauch.

The Blue and White had two defensive stands to close the third quarter with a block from Erin Viergutz and an airball for the Thunder to head into the final frame with Wheaton leading 41-37.

The Falcons and Thunder kept exchanging punches and kept exchanging baskets in the fourth quarter. After picking up an offensive rebound, Erin Viergutz tied the game at 47 with a layup with 2:13 remaining.

Wheaton reclaimed the lead with back-to-back three-point baskets and then added a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 55-47.

Erin Viergutz feasted on Friday and notched a double-double performance in the first half. She finished with career highs with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Aubrey DeBauch finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Hayden Ross added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Junior Lindsey Lonigro (Deerfield, Wis.) dished out three of the 10 assists for the Falcons.

The Falcons held a 45-38 advantage in rebounds and a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint.

The Thunder did not miss a free throw in the final two minutes to preserve the victory.

Concordia closes out 2023 on Monday against the Spartans of Dubuque.