LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Ripon's women's basketball team defeated Lake Forest 57-53 Wednesday night to win their first outright Midwest Conference Championship since 2009, while also clinching hosting rights to the MWC Championship for the second consecutive season. The Red Hawks, who shared the conference title last season, have now won six MWC Championships in program history. It is also the second time in program history that the team has won back-to-back titles.

After a closely contested first few minutes, Lake Forest (12-12, 11-6 MWC) ended the first quarter on a 9-1 run to take a nine-point lead at the end of the period. Ripon (16-8, 15-2 MWC) then scored the first eight points of the second quarter to cut the lead to one, before grabbing the lead minutes later on a layup by Megan Dille. The two teams went into halftime with the score knotted up at 22.

Ripon began the second half on an 8-3 run to take a five-point advantage on a jumper by Maggie Oimoen mid-way through the third quarter. That would be the lead as the two teams headed into the final quarter, which saw Kelsey Burton connect on a 3-pointer for Lake Forest to cut that lead to two on the period's opening possession. The Red Hawks led by as many as seven points in the final quarter, but Lake Forest was able to cut that lead to one on another Burton 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining. Ripon would seal the game thanks to three free throws and a trio of defensive stops.

Senior Laurissa Johnson led Ripon with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while also recording six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Freshman Skyylar Brescia added career-highs of 12 points and 13 rebounds for her second career double-double. Natalie Geiger also chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds.

Lake Forest was led by Burton's 18 points, five rebounds, and five steals. Hannah Hiland added 13 points, eight rebounds, and two steals for the Foresters.

The Red Hawks will have one final tuneup before hosting the 2019 MWC Tournament, as they'll travel to Knox College on Saturday. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Galesburg, Ill., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.