RIPON, Wis. - Entering Saturday afternoon, Ripon and Lake Forest were tied atop the Midwest Conference standings, but the game turned out to be more lopsided than the standings suggested. In a game which they never trailed, Ripon defeated the Foresters by a score of 63-46 to claim sole possession of first place for the time being thanks to a career-high 21 points from Emma McDonald, who tied a single game school record with seven 3-pointers. The Red Hawks shot 43 percent (25-58) from the field, while holding Lake Forest to just 27 percent (14-52) shooting.

Ripon (7-5, 5-1 MWC) was clicking on all cylinders from the outset, scoring the game's first seven points. McDonald made two of her seven 3-pointers in the opening quarter to set the tone for the day. After taking a 16-11 lead into the second quarter, the Red Hawks continued to pour it on, outscoring Lake Forest (5-7, 4-2 MWC) 15-7 in the second period, and taking a 31-17 lead into halftime.

Ripon would lead by double digits for the entirety of the second half, taking their largest lead of 25 on a jumper by Laurissa Johnson mid-way through the final quarter. McDonald put the final nail in the coffin with three of her 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the fourth period.

The Red Hawks outscored Lake Forest in the paint by a margin of 32-14, while also out-rebounding the Foresters 48-26, with 18 of their 48 rebounds coming on the offensive end. In addition to McDonalds's outstanding performance, Ripon also received 16 points and eight rebounds from Maggie Oimoen, while Jonalee Elliott again flashed her all-around game with 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots, and three steals.

Lake Forest was led by Kelsey Schmitt's 11 points, while Hannah Hiland recorded eight points and five rebounds.

Ripon will be in action again on Friday when they'll travel to Monmouth College. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.