Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Facing elimination from contention for a Midwest Conference Tournament spot, the Ripon women's basketball team stayed alive with a 66-59 victory over Lake Forest College Wednesday night. The Red Hawks led for the final 38 minutes of the game, leading by double digits for the majority of the contest.

Lake Forest (11-10, 9-7 MWC) started the night out on a good note, with Liz Radtke connecting on a 3-pointer on their first possession of the game. That would be the Foresters only points in the first eight minutes of the game however, and their only field goal in the first 10 and a half minutes. That helped Ripon (9-12, 8-8 MWC) take a commanding 25-6 lead mid-way through the first half, which saw the Red Hawks convert 10 of their first 18 shots (56 percent) from the field. Ripon held the Foresters to just 22 percent (5-23) in the first half, as the Red Hawks took a 12-point lead into halftime.

The second half saw Ripon continue to lead by double digits until the one and a half minute mark when a Danielle Canulli jumper cut the deficit to eight. Lake Forest would outscore Ripon 15-9 in the final two minutes to make the score respectable. The Red Hawks were able to secure the victory through free throws (17-of-23 in the second half) and by taking care of the ball with a season-low 14 turnovers in the game.

Jill Van Eperen led the Red Hawks with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, three assists and five steals. The Freedom, Wis. native now has 67 steals this season, which is the third-highest single season total in school history. She needs 13 steals in Ripon's final two games to break the record of 79, which was set by Janine Emmer '05 during the 2004-05 season. Also chipping in Wednesday against Lake Forest was senior Erin Lind, who recorded her 19th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while also posting a career-high six assists. Sia Gonyo and Kacie Cullen added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Red Hawks.

Lake Forest was led by 22 points and six rebounds from Radtke. Abby Wiedman added 11 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting from 3- point range. The Foresters turned the ball over 21 times in the contest.

Ripon is currently one and a half games out of the fourth and final playoff spot with two games remaining. They will take on Illinois College on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ripon for what will also be Senior Day and serve as Ripon's "Red Out" in which all fans in attendance are asked to wear red. That game can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal#.