MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – The Ripon women's basketball program bounced back from a tough loss on Friday night in a big way, crushing Dubuque 81-45 on Saturday afternoon at the Time of Grace Center in the Paul F. Knueppel Classic on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College.
 
Ripon (3-1) outscored Dubuque (1-2) by 26 in the second and fourth quarters, opening up a close game after the opening stanza.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Junior guard McKenzie Bestor recorded a career-high for the second consecutive day, scoring a team-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with three assists. She also was named to the All-Classic Team for her efforts.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz also notched a team-high in points, scoring 14 on 6-of-7 shooting. She added four rebounds and four assists.
• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals, three assists and three blocks for her second double-double of the season.
• Senior guard Anna Fahrney recorded nine points and two rebounds on 50.0% shooting from the floor.
• Freshman guard Karsyn Nelson tallied six points, seven rebounds and two assists.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The teams were even early, as both sides pulled in front to go along with multiple ties. Dubuque led 13-12 after two made free throws, but back-to-back layups by Havlovitz pulled Ripon in front. After Dubuque scored four consecutive points, Vanessa Solano hit a triple to give Ripon a 19-17 lead after one quarter.
 
Six consecutive points gave Ripon a 25-19 edge in the opening moments of the second quarter, but UD made two free throws to cut into the deficit. From there, a 10-0 run spanning over five minutes gave Ripon confidence and momentum for the remainder of the game, and though the Spartans ended the half with a layup, the Red Hawks took a 35-23 advantage into half.
 
Dubuque cut its deficit to single digits multiple times in the opening minutes of the second half, but a pair of free throws by Bestor gave Ripon a 46-35 lead and the Red Hawks would be in front by double digits for the rest of the day. Ripon ended the stanza on a 7-0 run, holding Dubuque without a point for the final 3:18 of the quarter as the Red Hawks led 57-37 with 10 minutes left.
 
Ripon scored the first four points of the fourth and never looked back. The Spartans never came within 20 points the rest of the afternoon, and Ripon emphatically ended the game on a 16-2 spurt over the final 6:10.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot a sparkling 46.0% from the field (29-of-63) and 7-of-19 from beyond the arc (36.8%).
• The Red Hawks were once again efficient from the free-throw line, making 16 of their 20 attempts (80.0%).
• Ripon recorded statistical advantages in bench points (36-11), fastbreak points (13-0), second-chance points (13-4) and points off turnovers (23-6).
• Morgan Hawkins led Dubuque with 12 points and seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
Ripon stays on the road Tuesday (November 19) as the Red Hawks visit Wheaton (Ill.) for a 5 p.m. game.
 
FOLLOW
Follow Ripon College Red Hawks Athletics on Facebook and @RiponRedHawks on Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to riponredhawks.com for all information, releases and schedules.