The Thunder rallied from an eight point deficit early in the second half. The rally was sparked by sophomore All-American center Jill Trenz, as she scored all nine of her points in a 14-4 run that lasted 8:10, and gave the Thunder a 33-30 lead. Trenz had spent all but 2 minutes of the first half on the bench, after picking up two early fouls.
The lead changed hands four more times, and the score was tied 39-39 with 2:39 remaining when junior guard Elizabeth Fox stole the ball from a Hope player and scored a layup to give Wheaton the lead that it would never relinquish. The Thunder finished the game with an 8-1 run that included four points for Fox and junior guard Brittnay Cooper.
Cooper led all scorers with 18 points as she tallied a "double-double", grabbing 10 rebounds, including five offensive caroms. Cooper was 8-for-16 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Fox added 13 points and six rebounds. Playing only 22 minutes, Trenz scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked five shots. She was 4-for-5 from the floor and added a free throw in her only attempt.
Linda Ebels scored 11 points for Hope and grabbed nine rebounds. Bria Ebels tallied nine points, and Ellen Wood gathered up 11 rebounds, along with nine points of her own. Lindsey Lange also added seven points and five rebounds.
The Thunder trailed the entire first half, as they were plagued with foul trouble. Sophomore All-American Jill Trenz picked up 2 fouls in the first two minutes of the game and did not return until the intermission. At that point, Hope had run out to an 8-0 lead. Wheaton hung around, even with junior guard Elizabeth Fox picking two fouls of her own and playing only 11 minutes. Cooper kept the Thunder in the game with eight points and five rebounds.
Wheaton trailed by only 6 points at the half, with the score 25-19 in favor of the Flying Dutch, despite shooting a dismal 7-for-34 from the floor, including 1-for-10 from three-point range. Hope was 6-for-19 for 31.6% from the floor and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. Both teams struggled to hang on to the basketball as well, with Wheaton committing 12 turnovers, but recording six steals as Hope turned the ball over 19 times in the first half.
Wheaton's defense improved in the second half, as they forced an additional 17 Hope turnovers on 10 steals, and blocked six shots, five from the returning Trenz. Hope shot only 18.5% from the floor in the second half, finishing with 23.9% shooting (11-for-46) from the floor for the game. Wheaton shot 18-for-66 (27.3%) from the floor and 1-for-18 from three-point range.
Hope out rebounded Wheaton 50-40, with both teams grabbing 17 offensive rebounds. Wheaton dominated the inside scoring, though, with 30 points in the paint, to only 18 for Hope.
Hope still leads the all-time series, 5-2, including a 52-50 victory in last season's inaugural CCIW/MIAA Challenge. Saturday's opponent, the 3-1 Calvin College Knights hold a 7-5 advantage over the Thunder, including handing Wheaton a 48-51 defeat last season in the Challenge.
Newspaper Box Score Hope College vs WHEATON College (IL) 12/02/05 6:00 pm EST at at Calvin Fieldhouse (GR, MI) At at Calvin Fieldhouse (GR, MI) WHEATON COLLEGE (IL) 47, HOPE COLLEGE 40 HOPE COLLEGE (3-1) Linda Ebels 4-9 3-4 11; Bria Ebels 3-7 2-8 9; Lindsay Lange 0-2 7-9 7; Ellen Wood 1-7 5-8 7; Jordyn Boles 2-11 0-0 4; Julie Henderson 1-5 0-0 2; Sarah Jurik 0-1 0-0 0; Stacy Warsen 0-3 0-0 0; Megan Noll 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-46 17-29 40. WHEATON COLLEGE (IL) (5-0) Cooper, Brittany 8-16 2-4 18; Fox, Elizabeth 3-14 7-9 13; Trenz, Jill 4-5 1-1 9; Fidelia, Kathleen 1-7 0-0 3; Pouns, Chase 1-7 0-0 2; Edgecombe, Whitney 1-4 0-0 2; Richard, Michelle 0-1 0-0 0; Cooper, Carissa 0-0 0-1 0; Glass, Claire 0-1 0-0 0; Passiales, Libby 0-1 0-0 0; Woudenberg, Wendy 0-6 0-0 0; Kim, Irene 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 18-66 10-15 47. Hope College.................. 25 15 - 40 WHEATON College (IL).......... 19 28 - 47 3-point goals-Hope College 1-10 (Bria Ebels 1-3; Jordyn Boles 0-6; Sarah Jurik 0-1), WHEATON College (IL) 1-18 (Fidelia, Kathleen 1-3; Fox, Elizabeth 0-2; Pouns, Chase 0-3; Passiales, Libby 0-1; Woudenberg, Wendy 0-4; Kim, Irene 0-3; Cooper, Brittany 0-2). Fouled out--Hope College-Sarah Jurik, WHEATON College (IL)-Pouns, Chase. Rebounds-Hope College 50 (Ellen Wood 11), WHEATON College (IL) 40 (Cooper, Brittany 10). Assists-Hope College 2 (Jordyn Boles 2), WHEATON College (IL) 9 (Kim, Irene 4). Total fouls-Hope College 19, WHEATON College (IL) 24. A-107 CCIW/MIAA Challenge