OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – The Ripon women's basketball program was unable to capitalize on a strong first half and fell to Dubuque 53-48 on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the BSN Winter Classic at the Oshkosh Arena.
 
Though Ripon (6-5) led by as many as 12 in the first half after starting the game on a 16-4 run, Dubuque (7-4) slowly chipped away and held Ripon scoreless for the final 2 minutes and 26 seconds to eke out the tight, non-conference victory.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Junior forward Ella Ten Pas earned her fifth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
• Junior guard Bella Opelt had 11 points and 3 rebounds.
• Senior guard Abby Hartmann tallied 9 points and 3 rebounds.
• Junior guard/forward Bree Miller netted 6 points on a pair of triples, also grabbing 2 rebounds and securing a block.
• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen collected 9 rebounds to go along with 4 points.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ten Pas scored the first four points of the game as Ripon held Dubuque scoreless for nearly four minutes to open the game. After the Spartans pulled within three with 5:26 left, Ripon went on a 9-0 run in the middle to late stages of the quarter to lead 16-4, its biggest advantage of the game. Dubuque scored the final four points of the quarter, but Ripon led 16-8 after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
The teams traded baskets to open the second quarter and points were harder to come by in the first five minutes. Dubuque went on a 4-0 run while holding Ripon scoreless for over three minutes, but Havlovitz found Ten Pas for an easy bucket to grow the Red Hawk lead to 22-14. The Spartans made a late charge before the intermission, going on a 9-0 run just before half as Ripon was held scoreless for over four and half minutes to take its first lead of the game. Ten Pas made a layup with under 10 seconds remaining, however, as the Red Hawks held a 24-23 advantage at the break.
 
Dubuque retook the lead on the first possession of the third quarter but Ripon put the clamps on the Spartans after that, going on a 6-0 run and holding Dubuque without a point for over three minutes to lead 31-26. The rest of the quarter would be tight as neither team held more than a five-point advantage. The Red Hawks ended a nearly three-minute drought with two free throws by Ten Pas at the end of the quarter to lead 37-34 with 10 minutes to go.
 
In the critical fourth quarter, Ripon scored the first three points to open a 40-34 lead with 7:15 left. A 6-0 run by Dubuque tied the game at 42 with under four minutes left, and a Tabria Thomas layup gave the Spartans a 47-46 lead with 2:58 left. From there, Ripon never regained the lead as Dubuque salted the game away at the free throw line and on the defensive end of the floor.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot a season-low 32.1% (18-of-56) from the field, holding Dubuque to 33.9% shooting (20-of-59).
• Neither team shot well behind the arc, as Ripon tied a season-low with a 16.7% clip (3-of-18) and Dubuque was just 2-of-20 (10.0%) from three-point land.
• Ripon had 17 turnovers and turned the Spartans over 14 times.
• The game featured 7 lead changes and a pair of ties.
• Tabria Thomas had a game-high 20 points for Dubuque.

UP NEXT
Ripon closes its time in Oshkosh with a matchup against the host UW-Oshkosh Titans at the Oshkosh Arena on Saturday (December 30) at 7:30 p.m.
 
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