JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Ripon women's basketball team handed Illinois College their first conference loss of the season Saturday afternoon, defeating the Lady Blues 54-53. The Red Hawks shot 39 percent (19-49) from the field, including 44 percent (4-9) from 3-point range. Ripon's bench played a big role in the game, outscoring IC's reserves, 28-10.
Illinois College (5-3, 3-1 MWC) took an early 10-5 lead, but Ripon answered with a 6-0 run to grab a lead of their own. The two teams ended the first quarter tied at 14, which was followed by Illinois College scoring the first seven points of the second quarter. Once again, Ripon (5-2, 3-2 MWC) battled back, scoring seven consecutive points to get back in the game once more.
After leading 32-31 at halftime, Ripon outscored the Lady Blues 8-3 in the third, with half of their points in the quarter coming from
Maggie Oimoen. The Red Hawks would take a nine-point lead with just over six minutes remaining when
Emma McDonald connected on a 3-pointer. That lead would be completely erased in the final minutes, as Illinois College went on a 15-6 run to tie the game at 53 on a layup by Hanna Bergkoetter with eight seconds left. The Lady Blues then committed a foul on the ensuing possession, allowing Oimoen to sink one of two free throws to help Ripon escape with a one-point victory.
Oimoen led Ripon with 12 points, to go along with four rebounds, while
Mikayla Hartman scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench.
Eleanore Mueller added a career-high 10 points, also off the bench.
Illinois College was led by Sydney Lett's 17 points and four rebounds. Brielle Greenleaf added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Ripon will be in action again on Friday when they'll host UW-Oshkosh. That game will begin at 7 p.m. at Storzer Center in Ripon.
