MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Ripon women's basketball program did something on Wednesday that had only been done once before in the history of the Midwest Conference.
 
As a result of the Red Hawks' 61-55 come-from-behind win over Cornell (8-14, 6-7) inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center, Ripon (15-7, 12-1 MWC) clinched a share of its sixth-consecutive Midwest Conference regular-season title, a feat only matched by St. Norbert from 1984-89.
 
With either a win on Saturday at Monmouth or a Knox loss on Saturday against Beloit, the Red Hawks will earn the outright MWC title and hosting rights for the upcoming Midwest Conference Tournament on February 23-24. This would mark the sixth straight year that the MWC Tournament champion and NCAA representative will be crowned inside the Willmore Center.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior forward Bonnie Jensen scored a game-high 20 points, making 12-of-17 free throws. Her 12 made free throws tie her for third in program history for single-game free throws made. She also had 5 rebounds.
• Junior guard Bree Miller added a season-high 12 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting.
• Senior guard Anna Fahrney contributed 10 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Senior guard Abby Hartmann scored 9 points with 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 boards.
• Freshman guard Laney Havlovitz chipped in 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, making all four free-throw attempts.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Havlovitz and Jensen each made a pair of free throws at the onset while Ripon scored the first four points of the game, holding Cornell without a point until the 7:03 mark. The Rams answered with a three soon after while Ripon endured a scoring drought of nearly five minutes. Ripon scored six consecutive points near the end of the quarter, but Cornell punched back and the teams were deadlocked at 10 after the first 10 minutes.
 
The second quarter was equally as back-and-forth; Ripon scored the first two points before Cornell scored the next five. The Red Hawks biggest lead of the quarter was seven following a 10-0 spurt to retake the lead at 22-15 in the middle stages of the frame. However, the Rams fought back and scored the next eight points to grab a slim lead until Miller canned her second triple of the game. Cornell hit a triple on their last possession of the half, Fahrney made a layup as the buzzer sounded and Ripon led 27-26 at the break.
 
The teams traded baskets at the start of the second half. Down 31-29, Jensen and Abby Hartmann scored six straight points as the Red Hawks pulled in front 35-31. Cornell continued to stay in it and roared ahead soon after, pulling in front 45-38 with a 14-3 run in the middle stages of the quarter as Ripon went without a field goal for nearly four minutes. Cornell scored six of the final eight points in the quarter and led 51-43 with 10 minutes to play.
 
Ripon refused to go away quietly in the fourth, storming back as they held Cornell without a point for the first three and half minutes of the frame. After Cornell went ahead 53-47, an 11-0 Ripon run spanning five minutes put Ripon up 58-53. Cornell countered with 1:07 left and the Red Hawk advantage was three with a minute to go. Hartmann made a free throw with under 30 seconds left to put Ripon up two scores, Cornell turned it over on the ensuing possession and the Red Hawks sealed the MWC championship at the free throw line.
 
KEY STATS

• In the final frame, Ripon shot 40.0% from the field (4-of-10) and 90.9% from the free throw line (10-of-11) while Cornell was 2-of-18 (11.1%) and missed all six three-point attempts.
• Ripon controlled the glass with 42 rebounds, allowing 36.
• In the critical fourth quarter, the Red Hawks outscored Cornell 18-4.
• There were four ties and 14 lead changes throughout the game.
• Rachael Adewusi led Cornell with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Ani'ja Simmons also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

UP NEXT
Ripon continues its road trip at Monmouth on Saturday (February 10) at 5 p.m.
 
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