OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – A cold first quarter doomed the Ripon women's basketball program as the Red Hawks dropped a 69-41 decision to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday night in the final game of the BSN Winter Classic at the Oshkosh Arena.
 
Oshkosh (9-2) never trailed after opening the game on a 16-4 run and remained perfect all-time against Ripon (6-6).
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen had a team-high 8 points and 9 rebounds. She was also named to the BSN Winter Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts over the weekend, averaging 6 points and 9 rebounds in her last two games.
• Freshman guard Laney Havlovitz chipped in 6 points and grabbed 2 boards.
• Junior forward Ella Ten Pas collected 7 rebounds to go along with 5 points.
• Senior guard Abby Hartmann scored 4 points and added a career-high 7 rebounds.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ten Pas scored the first three points of the game on an old-fashioned three-point play, but Oshkosh responded with the next 13 points and held the Red Hawks scoreless until Hartmann made a free throw with 4:17 left in the quarter. The Titan lead grew to as many as 12 in the opening frame on multiple occasions and Ripon trailed 20-8 after the first quarter.
 
The Titans scored the first points of the quarter and locked Ripon down defensively. Jensen put Ripon on the board over two and a half minutes into the quarter, but UWO grew its advantage to 19 and Ripon went without a basket for over five minutes in the frame. Sophie Schlieve made a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left, Opelt added another at the buzzer and Ripon headed into the intermission trailing by 14.
 
After Oshkosh opened the second-half scoring with a triple, Ripon scored four consecutive points and held UWO without a point for nearly five minutes in the middle stages of the quarter until the Titans bumped their lead back to 15. The Red Hawks then suffered through a scoring drought lasting over five minutes; Oshkosh ended the quarter on a 9-4 run and led by 18 with the final 10 minutes looming.
 
The outcome was never in doubt in the fourth and final quarter as the Red Hawk deficit never shrunk below 18. Bree Miller made a three-pointer with 5:14 remaining, but the Titans finished the game on a 12-6 run to win their fifth game in a row.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot a season-low 27.7% (13-of-47) from the field while UW-Oshkosh shot at a 47.2% clip (25-of-53).
• UWO was effective from beyond the arc, making 7 of 20 attempts (35.0%) while limiting the Red Hawks to just 1-of-3 from deep (33.3%).
• Oshkosh got a strong performance from its bench, scoring 35 points compared to Ripon's 17.
• Ripon turned the ball over 24 times, a season-high, and forced 14 Titan turnovers. UWO scored 22 points off turnovers, though Ripon managed just 3.
• Bridget Froehlke and Mallory Hoitink each had 17 points to lead UW-Oshkosh.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns home for a Midwest Conference clash against Grinnell on Thursday (January 4) at 7:30 p.m.
 
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