Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's women's basketball team fell behind early to UW-Oshkosh and couldn't recover, losing to the Titans 79-50. UW-Oshkosh shot 57 percent (24-42) from the field, while Ripon converted 34 percent (19-56) of their shots from the floor.

The Red Hawks (0-3) found themselves trailing 9-0 after four minutes of action, until a Nicole Herkert basket got Ripon on the board. A Maddie Koster 3-pointer cut the lead to five with 14 and a half minutes to play, but that's as close as the Red Hawks would get the rest of the night. UW-Oshkosh (4-0) led by double digits for the final 32 minutes of the game, including as many as 23 in the first half. After leading by 21 at halftime, the Titans took their largest lead of 32 points midway through the second half, en route to the victory.

Seniors Jill VanEperen and Kacie Cullen combined to score more than half of Ripon's points. VanEperen recorded team-highs of 18 points, five rebounds and two steals, while Cullen added 11 points, including a team-high two 3-pointers.

UW-Oshkosh was led by Brittany Mirsberger's 18 points off the bench, while Sarah Stecker and Taylor Schmidt each scored 14. The Titans bench outscored Ripon's reserves, 31-13.

The Red Hawks will try to rebound on Saturday as they'll open Midwest Conference play at Monmouth College. That game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal.