MONMOUTH, Ill. - Ripon's women's basketball team saw their seven-game win streak come to an end Friday night, losing at Monmouth by a score of 65-57. After entering the day in sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference, Ripon now drops into a first-place tie with Monmouth atop the MWC.

The Fighting Scots (14-4, 9-2 MWC) took control of the game early, taking a 16-7 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Ripon (10-8, 9-2 MWC) clawed their way back into the game, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a one-point lead on a pair of Laurissa Johnson free throws mid-way through the period. Monmouth answered with a jumper to grab the lead back, only to see Ripon tie the score once more on a jumper by Lauren Benkowski with one minute remaining before halftime. Two Becca Gallis free throws then gave Monmouth the lead just before the break.

Monmouth would lead by as many as seven points in the third quarter, but Ripon battled back once again to tie the score at 41 on a jumper by Skyylar Brescia in the final minute of the period. Neither team led by more than three for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, before Monmouth got some breathing room late, going up by eight with three and a half minutes to play. Ripon cut that lead to three with about two and a half minutes left, but that's as close as they would get.

Ripon shot 39 percent (22-56) in the game, including 46 percent (5-11) from 3-point range. Maggie Oimoen led the Red Hawks with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. Jesi Nay added 12 points on 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while adding five rebounds and three assists.

Monmouth finished the game shooting 45 percent (24-53) from the field and 38 percent (3-8) from 3-point range. Gallis led all scorers with 21 points off the bench, while Kaitlyn Osmulski added 12 points in a reserve role. Shayne Smith chipped in with 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Carley Turnbull produced 12 points.

The Red Hawks will try to start a new winning streak on Saturday when they'll travel to Grinnell College. That game will begin at 1 p.m., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.