The Ripon College women's basketball team secured a 64-50 victory over visiting Grinnell College Saturday afternoon, using a strong third quarter to truly take control of the game.
 
Skyylar Brescia posted her second-consecutive double-double and again led the Red Hawks in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 12 rebounds on the afternoon. She also had a game-high 5 steals in the win. Bella Opelt had 14 points and tied for the team high with 3 assists, while Alison Leslie and Bonnie Jensen each had 9 points for Ripon.
 
Grinnell opened the game with a three-pointer, putting Ripon behind very early in the contest, but the Red Hawks scored 11 of the next 12 points to take an 11-4 first-quarter lead. Their lead would grow to as many as 8 points in the closing minutes before taking a 17-11 advantage into the second quarter. Ripon lost the second quarter 14-12, but they never surrendered the lead, only allowing Grinnell to tie the score at 18 apiece before a small run gave Ripon control of the game once again.
 
The third quarter is where Ripon took control. It was just a 29-25 game in favor of the Red Hawks coming out of the locker rooms, but a 14-0 over the first 6-plus minutes of the third quarter had Ripon in full control of the game with a 43-25 lead. The Red Hawks would hold a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the quarter and led by 17 points, 49-32, with 10 minutes left to play. Ripon's lead touched 19 on a few occasions in the fourth quarter before coasting to the 14-point victory.
 
Ripon has a full week off before returning to the court on Saturday, January 28th when the Red Hawks travel to Cornell College for a 1:00 p.m. game.