MONMOUTH, Ill. - Ripon's women's basketball team entered Saturday's game against Monmouth just one and a half games in front of the Fighting Scots in first place in the Midwest Conference standings. After a convincing 62-49 victory, the Red Hawks left Monmouth with a stranglehold on the top of the conference staindings, as they now lead by two and a half games with four contests remaining.

Ripon (12-9, 11-1 MWC) was white-hot from the opening tip, scoring the first nine points of the game, before taking a commanding 21-5 lead after one quarter of play. The Red Hawks then scored the first eight points of the second period to take a 22-point lead on an Alison Leslie layup mid-way through the quarter. Monmouth (12-7, 9-4 MWC) would score the final seven points of the period to cut that lead to 15 at the break.

The Fighting Scots continued to climb back into the game after halftime, beginning the third quarter on a 13-6 run to cut Ripon's lead to eight. The Red Hawks then scored the last six points of the quarter to take a 14-point advantage. They would never trail by less than 13 the rest of the way, as they coasted to victory in the final quarter.

Leslie led Ripon with 17 points and five rebounds, while Bonnie Jensen posted 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while also recording eight rebounds and three assists. Bella Opelt also chipped in with a career-high 12 points.

Monmouth was led by 13 points and six rebounds from Kaitlyn Osmulski, while Jordan Kintigh added 10 points and eight rebounds. Zoie Wall chipped in with nine points and four rebounds.

Ripon will try to keep things rolling on Tuesday when they'll host Lake Forest College. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Willmore Center in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.