APPLETON, Wisconsin – The Ripon women's basketball program picked up a signature road win on Wednesday night, taking down Lawrence 50-46 inside Alexander Gymnasium in a game that came down to the final possession.
 
In a matchup between the top two teams in the Midwest Conference, Ripon (13-4, 7-1 MWC) and Lawrence (12-5, 6-2 MWC) each shot under 40% from the field in another competitive meeting where neither team led by more than nine points the entire game. The Red Hawks ended the game on a 5-0 run and pulled into sole possession of first place in the MWC standings with the win.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas led Ripon with 13 points, adding 10 rebounds and two assists for her eighth double-double of the season.
• Freshman guard Halle Van Horn added 12 points and seven rebounds.
• Junior guard McKenzie Bestor tallied seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Senior guard Anna Fahrney scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz chipped in six points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
With the sides tied at two nearly two minutes in, the Red Hawks went on a 9-0 spurt as the Vikings were held scoreless for nearly three minutes. Both teams experienced lengthy scoring droughts in the opening stanza, and eight consecutive points for Lawrence brought it within one. Each team scored in the final 90 seconds and Ripon led 13-12 after one.
 
Lawrence took its first lead at the 8:39 mark following a pair of made free throws and grabbed a 17-14 edge with six minutes to go in the half. However, Bestor reclaimed an 18-17 lead for the Red Hawks with four minutes left. Holding Lawrence without a point for almost four minutes, Ripon's lead never got bigger than one for most of the frame. In a back-and-forth quarter, Ripon went on a late 4-0 run and took a 22-21 advantage into halftime.
 
Both sides exchanged baskets at the onset of half two, as the biggest lead on either side in the first six and a half minutes was three in a low-scoring quarter. Three consecutive points for Ripon gave the Red Hawks a 31-26 lead after Lawrence was kept scoreless for over three minutes. The Vikings did not make a field goal for the final 2:50 of the frame and Ripon led 33-30 with one quarter to play.
 
Lawrence crept within one on multiple occasions in the first few minutes of the fourth, and took a 38-35 lead with seven and a half minutes to go following a 6-0 run. However, Ripon responded with a 4-0 run to pull back in front. From there, the sides exchanged both leads and ties. Lawrence missed a pair of free throws with two and a half minutes to play, and Ten Pas gave Ripon a 45-44 lead on the ensuing possession. With Ripon in front 47-46 and a minute on the clock after a Fahrney jumper, Karsyn Nelson picked off the Lawrence inbound and Havlovitz made two free throws to put Ripon in front 49-46. The Vikings couldn't convert on their final two possessions and Ripon walked away with the crucial road win.
 
KEY STATS

• Lawrence had a slight 38.5% to 35.8% shooting edge from the field.
• The teams combined to go 1-of-16 from three-point range.
• Ripon had a commanding 39-20 rebounding advantage.
• Wednesday's game featured 12 lead changes and five ties.
• Kate Adams led all scorers with 16 points for Lawrence.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns home to face Grinnell at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 25.
 
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