MONMOUTH, Ill. - Ripon's women's basketball team shot 46 percent (30-65) from the field Friday night, including 60 percent (6-10) from 3-point range, en route to a 76-47 conference-opening victory.

The Red Hawks (3-2, 2-0 MWC) led for 34 of the game's 40 minutes, but it was Monmouth (0-4, 0-2 MWC) who got on the scoreboard first. The Fighting Scots led by one mid-way through the first quarter, but a Maggie Oimoen gave Ripon a 6-5 advantage.

After leading 14-13 at the end of the first quarter, Ripon fell behind early in the second period when Monmouth scored five consecutive points. That was followed by an 11-0 run by the Red Hawks, capped by a Nicole Herkert jumper to put Ripon up by seven, a lead they would never relinquish.

After taking a 31-26 lead into halftime, Ripon opened up the game in the third quarter, leading by as many as 20, and outscoring Monmouth by a 22-9 margin. The Red Hawks continued to roll in the fourth and final quarter, outscoring the Fighting Scots 23-12 in that period to cap a half that saw them outscore Monmouth by a 45-21 margin.

Ripon scored 40 points off 31 Monmouth turnovers, while also outscoring the Fighting Scots 38-16 in the paint and 17-3 on second chance points. The Red Hawks also out-rebounded Monmouth by a 44-24 margin. Twenty of Ripon's 44 rebounds came on the offensive end of the court. Maggie Oimoen led Ripon with 17 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) for her third career double-double. Nicole Herkert added 13 points and seven boards (five offensive), while Megan Jensen and Maddie Koster scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Monmouth was led by Keri Dodson's 14 points and seven rebounds, while Rebecca Gallis led the team in assists with three. The Fighting Scots shot 34 percent (15-44) from the field, including 33 percent (6-18) from 3-point range.

Ripon will try to use their momentum on Saturday, as they'll be back on the court at Cornell. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Iowa and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.