PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The Ripon College women's basketball team fought back from a 23-point third quarter deficit Saturday afternoon to cut UW-Platteville's lead to six with one minute remaining in the contest, but time was not on their side, as the Red Hawks lost to the Pioneers 81-73. UW-Platteville was sparked by 29 points off 22 Ripon turnovers, which helped them lead from start to finish.
 
UW-Platteville (2-2) jumped out to an early 9-2 lead and ended the first quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 28-11 lead into the second quarter. They would extend that lead to 21 points in the period, but Ripon (2-2) cut that lead to 15 at halftime.
 
UW-P extended their lead to 23 points with just over three minutes left in the third period, but Ripon used a 6-1 run to enter the fourth quarter trailing by 18. A pair of Emma McDonald free throws would cut the lead to single digits mid-way through the period, and McDonald would drain a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining to cut the lead to six, but that's as close as the Red Hawks would get the rest of the way.
 
Ripon shot 37 percent (25-68) from the field. They were led by McDonald's career-high 20 points, making 4-of-7 shots from behind the 3-point line. Maggie Oimoen added 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Eleanore Mueller posted 15 points and five boards.
 
UW-Platteville shot 40 percent (29-72) from the field, including nine 3-pointers. Kassie Hansen led the Pioneers with 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Blaire Lutes and Maiah Domask added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Ripon will return home on Friday when they'll open Midwest Conference play against Monmouth College. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Ripon and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.