RIPON, Wis. - In a game in which neither team led by more than seven points, Ripon's women's basketball team defeated Cornell 77-72 in overtime Saturday afternoon, which keeps the Red Hawks in first place atop the Midwest Conference standings. The two teams battled evenly for much of the day, which featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes, in front of many former players and coaches alike on what was Ripon's annual Alumni Basketball Day.

Ripon (9-9, 8-1 MWC) came out firing in the opening quarter, getting out to a seven-point lead mid-way through the period on a jumper by Cydney Pittenger. Cornell (9-4, 4-2 MWC) would close that gap to a single point at the end of the quarter, before taking their first lead of the game on the first basket of the second quarter, a 3-pointer by Madison Osborn. Ripon would grab the lead back on a 3-pointer by Alison Leslie, before taking a one-point lead into halftime.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter, before a Vanessa Solano jumper gave the Red Hawks a two-point advantage entering the fourth period. In that quarter, Cornell built a five-point lead with four minutes left in regulation, but Ripon quickly tied the score with five consecutive points, including a three-point play by Bonnie Jensen, before Leslie gave Ripon a two-point advantage with two minutes remaining. A pair of Leslie free throws gave the Red Hawks a three-point lead with 14 seconds left, before Cornell tied the game with a 3-pointer by Kali March with three seconds on the clock to send the game to overtime.

In the extra frame, Leslie scored 10 of her team-high 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, willing the Red Hawks to victory. Solano added a career-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, while fellow Martin Luther High School alum Bonnie Jensen posted 15 points and seven rebounds. Kiana Fall also chipped in with 10 points, three rebounds, and five assists.

March led Cornell with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Osborn added 15 points with four 3-pointers of her own, while Megan Gandrup posted 10 points off the bench.

Ripon will try to build on this momentum on Tuesday when they'll host Beloit College at 7:30 p.m. at Willmore Center. That game can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.