RIPON, Wis. - Hosting the Midwest Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season this weekend, Ripon fell to Monmouith in Saturday's MWC Championship Game by a score of 74-69, giving the Fighting Scots an automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division-III Tournament. The game was hard fought and tightly contested by both teams, featuring 16 ties and 20 lead changes, including 11 ties and nine lead changes in the final quarter alone.

Monmouth (21-6) shot 48 percent (22-46) from the field, while also making an incredible 97 percent (28-29) of their free throws. Ripon (20-7) shot 37 percent (23-62) from the field and 80 percent (20-25) from the free throw line.

The Fighting Scots scored the first four points of the game, getting out to a 6-1 lead in the opening minutes. Ripon would answer with an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the day. With the score tied at 12 in the final minutes of the opening quarter, Ripon scored the final seven points of the period, with five of those coming from Jesi Nay. The Red Hawks led for the entirety of the second quarter, but that lead was whittled down to a single point at halftime.

Monmouth took grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter on a pair of Becca Gallis free throws, and they would later take a six-point lead on a Shayne Smith layup mid-way through the period. Ripon would battle back to take the lead on a pair of Alison Leslie free throws, helping to give Ripon a one-point advantage after three quarters.

Both teams put everything on the line in the fourth quarter, which saw Monmouth shoot 60 percent (6-10) from the field, while Ripon made 42 percent (8-19) of their shots. Ripon took their final lead on a layup by Bonnie Jensen with 31 seconds remaining, putting the Red Hawks up 69-68, but those would be the final points Ripon would score, as Monmouth would sink all six of their free throws in the final 20 seconds to escape with the victory and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Ripon was led by Alyassa Burgess and Jensen, whom each scored a team-high 16 points, while combining for 19 of the team's 22 fourth quarter points. Skyylar Brescia added 12 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench, while Nay scored 10 points (2-4 from 3-point range) and pulled down four rebounds in a reserve role.

Carley Turnbull led Monmouth with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while making all six of her free throws. Gallis added 18 points, while Smith posted 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Ripon ends the season with 1,765 points, which ranks fourth in program history. The Red Hawks' 134 three-pointers is a new school record, while their 3-point percentage of .341 is tied for eighth in program history. They also set a new school record for free throws made (377), while ranking seventh in program history in free throw percentage (.670). This year's team also finished in the top 10 in program history for rebounds (1,078), assists (345), and blocked shots (102).