GREEN BAY, Wis. - Ripon's Women's Basketball team moved into a second-place tie in the Midwest Conference standings Tuesday night with a 55-50 victory at St. Norbert. The Red Hawks' defense came up big, forcing 19 St. Norbert turnovers, while limiting the Green Knights to 30 percent (16-53) shooting, including just 19 percent (3-16) from 3-point range.

Ripon (12-6, 10-3 MWC) got off to a quick start, taking a 7-3 lead on a layup by Maggie Oimoen. St. Norbert (13-5, 10-3 MWC) then answered with 11 consecutive points to take a seven-point lead mid-way through the first quarter, but Ripon scored the final five points of that period to enter the second quarter trailing by two. Neither team led by more than three in the second period, with St. Norbert taking a one-point lead into halftime on a Brianna Byrne 3-pointer with just seconds left in the half.

St. Norbert began to pull away early in the second half, scoring the first six points of the third quarter, but Ripon battled back to tie the game at 36 on a layup by Eleanore Muller. After trailing by two entering the final quarter, Ripon made one final surge, taking the lead on a Megan Jensen jumper with four and a half minutes remaining and extending that lead to four with a pair of Jensen free throws. St. Norbert would cut that lead to one on a jumper by Byrne with two minutes to play, but Ripon converted their final three free throws to seal the game.

Emma McDonald led Ripon with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Jensen added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Oimoen posted nine points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Ripon shot 35 percent (18-52) in the game. The Red Hawks converted 56 percent (5-9) of their shots in the final quarter, while holding St. Norbert to 17 percent (2-12) shooting in that period.

St. Norbert was led by Byrne's 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Regan Carmichael added nine points and nine rebounds, while Sarah Ratajczyk also scored nine points.

Ripon will try to extend their current four-game winning streak on Saturday when they'll host Lake Forest at 1 p.m. at Storzer Center in Ripon.