LAKE FOREST, Illinois – The Ripon women's basketball program saw five players score in double figures and cruised to an 81-48 win at Lake Forest on Tuesday night inside the Sports & Recreation Center.

After Lake Forest (2-12, 1-5 MWC) scored the first point of the game, Ripon (9-6, 6-0 MWC) led for the final 37 minutes and 23 seconds, blitzing Lake Forest with 51.7% shooting from the field in the first half en route to a 22-point halftime advantage. The 19 points allowed in the first 20 minutes was the second-fewest first-half points given up by the Ripon defense this season.

STANDOUT HAWKS

• Junior forward Ella Ten Pas scored a team-high 14 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and collecting 3 steals. She made six of her seven attempts from the free-throw line.
• Freshman guard Laney Havlovitz finished with 11 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen netted 11 points with 5 boards and 2 assists.
• Sophomore guard Natalie Rauwolf had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.
• Senior guard Abby Hartmann scored in double-figures for the first time this season, chipping in 10 points (4-of-4 from the field) and collecting 4 steals.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Lake Forest opened the scoring with a free throw nearly two minutes into the game, but Ripon countered with the next five points. A 7-0 Red Hawk run in the middle to late stages of the quarter pushed the lead to nine as Ripon accumulated eight steals not even seven minutes into the game. Ripon scored the final three points of the quarter and the Red Hawks led by nine after the first 10 minutes of action.

Ripon picked up where it left off in the second quarter, growing its lead to 14 after a 6-0 run while holding the Foresters to just two points in the first four-plus minutes of the frame. However, Lake Forest got to the rim on numerous occasions, cutting its deficit to nine before Ten Pas knocked down a pair of free throws with 4:42 left in the half. Ripon responded with a 5-0 spurt to lead 30-15, its biggest advantage of the half. The Red Hawks ended the half on a 9-0 run over the final 2 minutes and 54 seconds, leading 41-19 at the break while forcing 17 Forester turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Lake Forest opened the second half with five consecutive points, but Bella Opelt got Ripon on the board with a triple just over two minutes in. The Red Hawks continued to control the game, scoring six consecutive points after Lake Forest made it a 19-point game. Ripon's biggest lead of the quarter was 25 (50-25) while much of the third quarter was consumed by free throws; the Foresters shot nine in the period alone and Ripon attempted seven. The Red Hawks took a 24-point advantage into the fourth quarter after the teams combined to make 10 of their last 12 field goal attempts.

Havlovitz scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and Ripon led 66-39. The final quarter saw little drama as the Red Hawks led by as many as 34 (77-43), never leading by less than 24 in the final 10 minutes. Ripon – who led by 30+ for the last 5 minutes and 29 seconds – held Lake Forest scoreless for the final 2:31, made four of its last five three-pointers and bled out the clock to preserve the win.

KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 53.7% from the field (29-of-54) for its best shooting performance of the season.
• The Red Hawks forced a season-high 28 turnovers, committing a season-low 13.
• For the first time this season, Ripon shot .500 from beyond the arc, going 5-of-10 (50.0%) while holding Lake Forest to 3-of-7 from deep (42.9%).
• Ripon picked up 19 steals, marking the fourth consecutive game (and fifth in the last six) with at least 10 steals.
• Taylor Major had a game-high 15 points for Lake Forest.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns home to face Monmouth on Saturday (January 13) at 3 p.m. inside Weiske Gymnasium.

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