MONMOUTH, Illinois – The Ripon women's basketball program outscored Monmouth 26-5 in the second quarter and cruised to an 82-42 win over the host Scots on Saturday night inside Glennie Gymnasium.
 
Thanks to Beloit's upset win over Knox earlier in the afternoon, the Red Hawks not only have won the outright Midwest Conference regular-season title but have earned the advantage to stay at home for the upcoming Midwest Conference Tournament on February 23-24 – the sixth-consecutive tournament held inside the friendly confines of the Willmore Center.
 
In the game-defining second quarter, Ripon (16-7, 13-1 MWC) shot 60.0% from the field, was from beyond the arc and held Monmouth (2-21, 0-14 MWC) without a made field goal.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Junior guard Bella Opelt scored a game-high 14 points, making all four free throw attempts. She added a pair of rebounds and 2 assists.
• Junior forward Ella Ten Pas returned from a one-game absence to post her 10th double-double of the season with 10 points and 19 rebounds – 10 offensive. Her 19 boards are tied for ninth-most in program history in a single game.
• Freshman guard Laney Havlovitz contributed 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen added 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Points were at a premium to start the game as there were just four total points scored in the first five minutes; Ripon led 3-0 but Monmouth scored the next three points to tie it up. Monmouth kept it close in the opening frame as the Scots' deficit was no larger than five in the first 10 minutes. After Ripon held an 11-6 advantage, Monmouth scored four of the last five points in the quarter and only trailed by two after the opening stanza.
 
Ripon scored the first five points of the second quarter, pushing its advantage to 17-10. A 9-0 Red Hawks spurt in the middle stages of the quarter put Ripon in front 26-12 with five and a half minutes to go in the stanza as the Scots went without a basket for over three minutes. Opelt canned a triple with under two minutes remaining to spark a half-ending, 10-0 run as the Red Hawks led by 23 at the break.
 
Ripon continued to lock down defensively in the second half, not surrendering a field goal for the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. Ripon's lead grew to as many as 37 in the period even though Monmouth shot 44.4% from the field in the frame. Eleven consecutive points for the Red Hawks highlighted the quarter as the Scots went without a basket from the 7:08 mark of the period until the clock read 2:45. Bree Miller ended the frame with a jumper and Ripon led by 37 with the final 10 minutes to play.
 
With the outcome firmly in hand, Monmouth continued to compete, scoring the first five points of the final quarter. The Scots went on a 5-0 run midway through the quarter, but Ripon's lead never dipped below 30 in the frame. The Red Hawks ended the night on a 10-0 run, holding Monmouth scoreless for the final 3:50 to polish off the road win.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 44.6% (29-of-65) from the field, limiting Monmouth to just 13 made field goals (13-of-52, 25.0%).
• The Red Hawks had a season-high 51 rebounds and conceded just 20.
• Ripon was 19-of-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line; the Scots only attempted 16 free throws and made 12.
• 16 different Red Hawks found the scoring column.
• Kynlee Stearns and Ashley Jones each led Monmouth with 9 points.

UP NEXT
Ripon hosts its final regular season home contest against Lake Forest on Wednesday (February 14) at 7:30 p.m.
 
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