RIPON, Wis. – Ripon's women's basketball team defeated Knox 68-56 Friday night in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament, advancing to the championship game for the second consecutive season. That marks Ripon's 20^th win of the season, which is tied for second in school history, just two wins shy of the school record.
 
Knox's only lead of the day came on the first basket of the game. Ripon (20-6) answered by scoring the next 10 points, before taking a six-point lead into the second quarter. The Red Hawks scored first in the second period on freshman Alison Leslie's 70^th 3-pointer of the season, which breaks a school record. Knox would pull within three in the quarter, but a pair of Skyylar Brescia baskets put Ripon up by seven at the half.
 
Ripon scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take control of the game, leading by as many as 16, but Knox (16-10) whittled that lead down to five entering the final quarter. The Prairie Fire pulled within one with eight minutes remaining, but another three by Leslie gave Ripon some breathing room. The Red Hawks sealed the victory by making 73 percent (8-11) of their free throws in the second half.
 
Leslie led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. She now has 377 points this season, which is eighth in school history, just four shy of the seventh highest single season total. Fellow freshman Bonnie Jensen added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Brescia added eight points and five rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. The Red Hawks shot 53 percent (26-59) from the field, including 61 percent (14-23) in the second half, while also making 43 percent (6-14) of their 3-pointers. With six three pointers in the game, Ripon now has 131 threes on the year, which breaks the previous school mark of 128.
 
Knox was held to just 33 percent (19-57) shooting. They were led by Catessa Duran's 24 points and six rebounds, while Jarrelyn Mccall added 14 points and six boards. Kyra Huffman also chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Ripon will now battle second seeded Monmouth College in the MWC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. That game will begin Saturday at 3 p.m. from Willmore Center in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/, with a berth to the NCAA Division-III Tournament on the line.