TACOMA, Washington – A strong third quarter propelled the Ripon women's basketball program to a 51-38 win over Pacific Lutheran on Sunday afternoon inside Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Puget Sound.
 
Trailing by five at the half after being down eight in the first quarter, Ripon (2-0) scored 16 consecutive points in the third and fourth quarters, taking the lead for good after outscoring Pacific Lutheran (0-2) 20-6 in the critical third period.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Freshman guard Karsyn Nelson scored in double figures for the second consecutive night, scoring a team-high 10 points on 50.0% shooting. She also had seven rebounds.
• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas had a team-high 10 points and eight rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz recorded eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the opening quarter. After Ripon took a 4-2 lead, the Lutes came back with 10 consecutive points to lead 12-4 with under two minutes to go in the frame. However, the Red Hawks ended the quarter with seven consecutive points to trail by one at 12-11 after 10 minutes.
 
PLU scored the first points of the second quarter, and Ripon was kept off the scoreboard for the first four and a half minutes until Ten Pas sank a free throw and McKenzie Bestor tied the game on a layup. Vanessa Solano canned a triple to tie the game at 17 with two minutes left in the half, but Pacific Lutheran led 23-18 at the break following back-to-back threes.
 
The teams traded baskets at the onset of the third quarter, but 14 consecutive points by Ripon over the final 4:36 gave the Red Hawks a 38-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Bree Miller had the first five points to spark Ripon's run, recording a made jumper and a layup on consecutive possessions.
 
Ripon's stifling defense continued in the fourth, keeping PLU off the board for the first two and a half minutes. Though the pace picked up offensively on both sides, the Red Hawks preserved a lead of at least nine points for the remainder of the game, picking up a second key non-conference victory to open the new season.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon had a slight 32.7% to 31.9% advantage in shooting percentage.
• The Red Hawks made 15 of their 20 free throw attempts, while PLU was just 4-of-10 from the charity stripe.
• Ripon dominated second-chance points (13-2), points in the paint (26-20) and points off turnovers (18-10).
• Kasidy Javernick scored a game-high 13 points for Pacific Lutheran.

 
UP NEXT
Ripon stays on the road next weekend for a pair of games in Milwaukee, first facing Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday (November 15) at 7:15 p.m.
 
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