JACKSONVILLE, Illinois – The Ripon women's basketball program allowed just 12 second-half points in a 79-39 demolition of Illinois College on Saturday afternoon inside Sherman Gymnasium.
Allowing under 40 points in a game for the second time this season, Ripon (5-2, 1-0 MWC) allowed just one made field goal in the third quarter and held Illinois College (2-7, 0-2 MWC) without a made three-pointer in the second half.
STANDOUT HAWKS
- Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz led Ripon with 12 points, adding four steals and three rebounds.
- Freshman guard Halle Van Horn recorded her first career double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
- Senior guard Vanessa Solano tallied 10 points and three rebounds. She was perfect from the three-point line (2-2) and free throw line (2-2).
- Senior forward Ella Ten Pas nearly missed another double-double, tallying nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The sides went back and forth in the opening quarter, but it was IC that took an early 7-5 lead halfway through the frame. However, Ripon responded with seven consecutive points, holding the Lady Blues scoreless for over three minutes. Leading 12-11, the Red Hawks ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to lead 19-13 after one.
Ripon endured a two-plus minute scoring drought to open the second, but a 9-0 Red Hawks' run made their lead 28-15 with five minutes remaining in the half. After IC ended its skid, Ripon pressed forward with four consecutive points, opening up a 32-17 lead – its biggest of the game thus far. The lead grew to as many as 16 (37-21), but Illinois College scored the last six points of the stanza to close the gap to 37-27 at intermission.
The Red Hawks grabbed the momentum back at the onset of the second half, keeping IC off the scoreboard for nearly two and a half minutes. Ten consecutive points made Ripon's lead 50-28, and the Red Hawks ended the quarter on an 18-3 spurt to pull in front 58-31 with 10 minutes to play. Illinois College's only made field goal of the period came at the buzzer, and Ripon held the Lady Blues without a point for a trio of two-plus minute scoring droughts.
Leading 60-33, Ripon scored the next seven points to make its lead 34 with six minutes left. IC had a 4-0 run in the middle stages of the fourth, but the Red Hawks ended the afternoon with 11 consecutive points for their biggest league victory since a 40-point drubbing of Monmouth last February.
KEY STATS
- Ripon shot 25-of-67 from the field (37.3%) and 25-of-36 from the free-throw line (69.4%).
- Coming into Saturday's game as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, the Red Hawks were 40.0% from deep (4-of-10) against IC.
- Ripon got 46 points from its bench and scored 35 points off turnovers.
- The Red Hawks scored 24 second-chance points, allowing none by the Lady Blues.
- Anna McKee led Illinois College with 12 points.
UP NEXT
Ripon returns home to face Knox at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 14. The Red Hawks will be celebrating Elaine Coll Day prior to and during the game next weekend.
FOLLOW
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