GRINNELL, Iowa - During a game in which the never led, the Ripon College women's basketball team lost at Grinnell College Saturday afternoon, 59-46. The Red Hawks fell into an early hole, missing 12 of their first 13 shots. They finished the game shooting 29 percent (16-56) from the field, while Grinnell shot 41 percent (20-49) from the floor. The Pioneers also converted 44 percent (7-16) of their 3-pointers.

Grinnell (6-6, 4-3 MWC) scored the first eight points of the afternoon, and took a 14-2 lead just five minutes into the game. Ripon (1-12, 1-7 MWC) would never cut the lead to single digits the rest of the day, trailing by as many as 20 in the opening period.

The second half was tightly contested, with Ripon outscoring Grinnell by one point in the final 20 minutes, but the damage had already been done. The Red Hawks could only get to within 11 points in the final period.

Emma McDonald led the Red Hawks with 12 points, to go along with three rebounds, two blocked shots, and one steal. Nicole Herkert added 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Mikayla Hartman tied a career-high with eight points, while pulling down a career-best three rebounds.

Grinnell was led by 18 points from Alissa Hirsch, who also recorded five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Kayla Morrissey finished with 13 points, while Sophia Gatton scored 11. Grinnell scored 22 of tier 59 points off 14 Ripon turnovers.

Ripon will try to snap their current 10-game slide on Tuesday when they'll host Lake Forest College. That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Ripon and can be seen live at,http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.