RIPON, Wisconsin – Three Red Hawks scored at least 14 points and the Ripon women's basketball program soundly defeated Knox 80-67 on Saturday afternoon inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
On a day where Ripon (6-2, 2-0 MWC) recognized the pioneer of women's sports at Ripon College, Elaine Coll, the Red Hawks got a career-high 18 points from Anna Fahrney and their third 80-point performance of the season, shooting north of 50% from the field for the third time this season.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior guard Anna Fahrney led all scorers with a career-high 18 points. She was 7-of-12 from the field and made a trio of three-pointers.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz recorded 16 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals.
• Junior guard Natalie Rauwolf contributed 14 points, three rebounds and three steals.
• Freshman guard Halle Van Horn scored nine points, adding a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with four steals, three blocks and two assists.
• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas added eight points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Leading 7-5, Ripon pushed in front by eight with six consecutive points. Following a layup by Havlovitz, the Red Hawks led 21-8 for their largest lead of the period not even seven minutes into the game. Knox (4-5, 1-2 MWC) cut its deficit to nine moments later, but another Havlovitz basket at the buzzer gave the hosts a 27-16 lead after one quarter.
 
After the Prairie Fire whittled Ripon's lead to seven at 32-25, a 7-0 spurt by the Red Hawks opened up a 14-point advantage with 90 seconds until halftime. Knox scored the final five points of the quarter to make its halftime deficit single digits, but Ripon held a 39-30 lead at the break.
 
Ripon took control of the game in the third quarter, scoring two-thirds of the total points in the period (32-16). A 9-0 Ripon run pushed the advantage to 18 (50-32) in a foul-heavy stanza, and the closest Knox got in the quarter the rest of the way was 14. The Red Hawks held Knox to 3-of-13 shooting from the field in the period, as nine of the Prairie Fire's 16 points came at the charity stripe. Ripon allowed just one made field goal in the final five-plus minutes of the quarter, leading by as many as 25 on multiple occasions. Bree Miller scored Ripon's last four points of the quarter and the Red Hawks headed into the fourth up 71-46.
 
With Ripon leading 76-54, Knox made things slightly interesting in the middle portion of the quarter with 11 consecutive points to cut its deficit in half. However, after a Prairie Fire layup with 4:01 remaining in the game, the Red Hawks kept Knox off the scoreboard for more than three minutes to preserve the double-digit victory.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 52.6% from the field (30-of-57) and 35.3% from beyond the arc (6-of-17).
• The Red Hawks had a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint, and an 11-10 edge in second-chance points.
• Ripon dominated the glass to the tune of 43 rebounds, conceding just 28.
• Sarina Dacio led Knox with 15 points.

UP NEXT
Ripon heads north next week for an exhibition at Division I Green Bay. Tipoff from the Kress Center is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 19.
 
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