KENOSHA, Wis. - Ripon lost their season opener Tuesday night, falling to Carthage College 78-57. Turnovers played a key role in the outcome, with Carthage holding a 21-8 advantage, while turning those 21 Red Hawks turnovers into 31 points.

Despite the loss, Ripon (0-1) came out white-hot, making their first eight shots from the field, as they scored the first 10 points of the game, en route to an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ripon continued to lead in the second quarter, until Carthage used an 18-6 run to take a 33-31 lead just before halftime.

A Maggie Oimoen basket tied things up early in the third quarter, but that's as close as things would get the rest of the night. Carthage promptly connected on one of their 10 3-pointers on the night to grab the lead for good just two minutes into the second half. That third quarter proved to be the difference in the game, as Carthage outscored the Red Hawks 27-4 in the period.

Oimoen and Alyassa Burgess led Ripon with 10 points apiece, while also recorded six and three rebounds, respectively. Freshman Kassidy Walters added nine points off the bench, going 3-of-7 from 3-point range, while Natalie Geiger recorded eight points and three rebounds. The Red Hawks shot 63 percent (12-19) in the first half, but just 33 percent (9-27) after halftime.

Carthage was led by Autumn Kalis' game-high 17 points, while Madie Kaelber added 13 points. Rachel Sydlowski scored 10 points off the bench, while Bailey Gilbert chipped in with nine points, six rebounds (four offensive), four assists, and two steals. Carthage shot 44 percent (28-64) from the field, including 40 percent (10-25) from 3-point range.

Ripon will be in action again on Friday at UW-Eau Claire during the first day of UW-EC's Tournament. That game will begin at 8 p.m. in Eau Claire, Wis., and can be seen live at https://www.uwec.edu/learning-technology-services/live-streaming/uwec-athletics-live-stream/.