APPLETON, Wisconsin – The Ripon women's basketball program ran into a desperate Lawrence squad playing for its postseason fate on Saturday afternoon as the host Vikings defeated the Red Hawks for the first time in 17 years with a 74-71 overtime stunner inside Alexander Gymnasium.
 
Ripon (17-8, 14-2 MWC) tied the game with 3 seconds remaining in regulation, but Lawrence (15-10, 9-7 MWC) scored the first seven points of overtime and held on to secure a berth in next week's Midwest Conference Tournament for the first time since 2007.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Freshman guard Laney Havlovitz set a new career-high with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, adding 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists.
• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen scored 17 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Sophomore guard Natalie Rauwolf tallied 10 points and 5 boards.
• Senior guard Abby Hartmann scored 8 points, also collecting 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.
• Junior guard Bree Miller contributed 7 points and 4 boards.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The beginning of the first quarter was a seesaw battle as the teams took turns finding the hoop and holding the lead. After Ripon led 5-4, back-to-back threes by Lawrence's Libby Crandall started a 10-0 Viking run that spanned nearly seven minutes in the opening frame until Rauwolf stopped the slide with two free throws. Lawrence scored the final two points of the quarter and Ripon was in a sizable deficit after the first quarter for the second consecutive game.
 
Ripon was held without a basket for the first two-plus minutes of the second quarter until Hartmann turned defense into offense twice, dishing once to Havlovitz and scoring once herself as Ripon drew within seven at 18-11. However, Lawrence punched back and the lead was double-digits once again. The Vikings extended their lead to 13 as Ripon was held scoreless for over three minutes until Vanessa Solano canned a triple. The teams traded baskets in the final two minutes and Ripon trailed 27-19 at the break.
 
Ripon started the second half on a 9-2 run, trimming its deficit to 29-28 before Lawrence scored on its next two possessions. The Red Hawks came within one on multiple occasions in the third and finally took their first lead since it was 5-4 on a layup by Havlovitz with 2:59 remaining. Lawrence responded, however, and the teams jockeyed for the lead the remainder of the quarter. The Vikings scored the final three points of the frame at the free throw line and led 42-40 with 10 minutes to go.
 
Lawrence opened the fourth with a triple, the fourth by Crandall, and started the quarter with four straight points spanning nearly two minutes. Down 46-40, Ripon climbed back into the game at the free throw line with four straight points at the charity stripe. Down 51-46, Hartmann hit a jumper, Rauwolf made a layup, Havlovitz set a new career-high with a triple and all of a sudden, Ripon led 53-51 with 3:17 to go on the back of a 7-0 run. Tied at 55 with under two minutes left, Maggie Culver converted an old-fashioned, three-point play to put LU up three with under 90 seconds to go, but Havlovitz answered with two free throws on the other end. On Ripon's next possession, Jensen converted a three-point play and the Red Hawks led 60-58 with 44.1 seconds left. Tied at 60 with 8.2 seconds left, Jensen committed a foul and LU sank both free throws. However, Havlovitz tied it on the other end with a layup and overtime was needed.
 
Lawrence stormed into the extra session, scoring the first seven points over the first 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Jensen stopped the slide by scoring the next four points as Ripon cut it to a one-possession game. However, the Vikings responded with a triple on the other end. Solano hit a three to bring Ripon within 72-71 and Havlovitz got a steal to give Ripon a chance to take the lead. Ripon missed, Lawrence grabbed the rebound and split a pair of free throws on the other end. Ripon turned it over on its last possession and the Vikings escaped with the win.
 
KEY STATS

• Lawrence shot a scorching 54.3% from the field (25-46) and made four field goal attempts in overtime while Ripon was just 24-of-60 (40.0%) and 2-of-7 in overtime.
• Ripon attempted 20 free throws, making 17, while the Vikings were 20-of-31 (64.5%) from the charity stripe.
• Ripon forced 20 turnovers, but the Red Hawks committed 16 themselves.
• There were six ties and 12 lead changes throughout.
• Maggie Culver led Lawrence with 18 points.

UP NEXT
Ripon will host the 2024 Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday and Saturday, February 23-24. Due to Lawrence's win, Knox's win and Grinnell's win, Ripon will play Lawrence next Friday in the MWC Tournament Semifinal at 5 p.m. inside the Willmore Center.
 
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