OSHKOSH, Wis. - Despite eight players entering the scoring column of tonight's game, the Ripon College women's basketball team could not overcome a 10-point halftime deficit, falling 61-53 to host institution UW-Oshkosh at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Tournament.
 
Bella Opelt led Ripon with 11 points and Alison Leslie had 10 points for Ripon's double-digit scorers. Skyylar Brescia had 9 points and Abi Payne added 7 off the bench. Bonnie Jensen led the Red Hawks with 8 rebounds and Brescia tallied 7 boards, helping Ripon outrebound Oshkosh on the night. But it was a cold shooting night for the Red Hawks as Ripon, despite holding Oshkosh to 42 percent shooting, shot 33 percent from the floor in their 8-point defeat.
 
Throughout the first 9 minutes of the first quarter, Ripon was within striking distance of Oshkosh, but a mini-run from the host had Ripon trailing by 5, 13-8. Then, despite shooting just 2-of-13 in the second quarter, Ripon was able to minimize the damage and entered the locker room trailing by just 10, 28-18.
 
Oshkosh opened the third quarter by pushing their lead to 12 on several occasions, but after falling behind 34-22, Ripon put together a run and immediately got right back into the game. A layup by Brescia kicked off an 11-2 run and in less than 5 minutes of game time, Ripon had trimmed it to a one-possession game. Unfortunately for the Red Hawks, three turnovers and a missed layup in the final 2 minutes flipped the momentum back in favor of UW-Oshkosh as the Titans scored the last 6 points of the quarter and Ripon trailed 42-33. 
 
Ripon came out aggressive early in the fourth quarter in an attempt to once again close the gap, but their deficit ballooned to 13 points with 6 minutes to play before the Red Hawks would eventually fall by the 61-53 final score.
 
Ripon will ring in the New Year with their first road game of 2023 on Tuesday, January 3^rd at Grinnell College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.