GALESBURG, Ill. - Ripon's women's basketball team defeated Knox College 66-63 on Saturday in the game of the regular season. That marks the Red Hawks' eight consecutive win, which is tied for the fifth-longest streak in program history, as they enter next weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament.

The two teams played evenly for the entirety of the first quarter, which didn't see either team lead by more than four points. The Red Hawks (16-9, 15-1 MWC) then began the second period on a 10-4 run, capped by a Kiana Fall jumper to give them a 10-point advantage. That lead would be cut in half as the two teams headed to the locker rooms for intermission.

Ripon continued to lead in the third quarter, taking a 12-point advantage on a Kassidy Walters 3-pointer with four and a half minutes left, but Knox (12-11, 10-5 MWC) again battled back, cutting the lead to four on a 3-pointer by Haylee Carpenter in the final seconds before the final quarter. In that last period, Knox scored the first five points to take their first lead since the first quarter. The lead would change hands four times in the final period, with the final lead change coming with 40 seconds remaining, as Walters connected on her fourth 3-pointer of the game to put Ripon up by one. The Red Hawks then made all four of their free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure the victory.

Walters finished with a career-high 20 points in just 12 minutes off the bench, making 7-of-9 shots from the field. Bonnie Jensen added 11 points and five rebounds, while Skyylar Brescia narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds (four offensive).

Knox was led by 22 points from Jessica Lee, while Carpenter scored 19 in 23 minutes off the bench, while making six 3-pointers. Catessa Duran also chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds (six offensive).

Ripon will now get ready for the MWC Tournament, which they will be hosting for the fourth consecutive season. Their MWC semifinal game will be at 8 p.m. on Friday night, and will be preceded by Ripon's men's MWC semifinal game. This marks the first time in history that both Ripon basketball teams have hosted the MWC Tournament in the same season.