GRINNELL, Iowa – The Ripon women's basketball program fell 71-58 at Grinnell on Wednesday night inside Darby Gymnasium.
Ripon (9-4, 3-1 MWC) trailed by just two at halftime before Grinnell (9-5, 3-2 MWC) outscored the Red Hawks 42-31 in the second half to pull off the upset.
STANDOUT HAWKS
- Junior guard Natalie Rauwolf scored a team-high 12 points to go along with five rebounds.
- Freshman guard Halle Van Horn also notched a team-high 12 points, adding eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
- Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz chipped in 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
- Senior forward Ella Ten Pas tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
- Senior guard/forward Bree Miller contributed eight points and two rebounds.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Four consecutive points in the early going put Grinnell in front 6-2, and the Pioneers led by as many as five (9-4) following a three-pointer with 3:48 left in the quarter. Five straight points for Ripon gave the Red Hawks a 13-11 lead, and the visitors took a 15-13 lead into the second quarter following a made layup by Miller.
The teams traded baskets at the onset of the second quarter, but a couple of 3-0 mini runs gave the Red Hawks a 21-17 edge three minutes into the stanza. After a nearly three-minute scoring drought for both teams, Grinnell split a pair of foul shots to make it a one-score deficit at 23-20. The Red Hawks led by as many as five in the stanza, but a late 9-2 Pioneer spurt helped the hosts take a 29-27 advantage into halftime.
Ripon tied things up at 29 on its first possession of the second half, but Grinnell opened up a 45-35 nearly six minutes through the period. The Pioneer lead grew to as many as 14 with 2:23 left in the quarter following consecutive three-pointers. Ripon pushed back with four consecutive points near the end of the quarter, but headed into the fourth trailing 54-43.
Van Horn completed an old-fashioned, three-point play to open the fourth as the Red Hawks inched closer. However, Grinnell followed that with seven consecutive points to go up 61-46. The Pioneers led by as many as 16 from there, keeping Ripon's deficit double digits the rest of the night en route to the victory.
KEY STATS
- Ripon shot 35.5% from the field (22-of-62) while Grinnell was a touch better at 42.1% (24-of-57).
- The difference in the game came from beyond the arc, as the Pioneers shot 53.3% from deep (8-of-15) while limiting Ripon to 30.8% shooting (4-of-13).
- Grinnell made more free throws (15) than Ripon attempted (13).
- The Pioneers had a 29-8 advantage in bench points.
- Nikki Ware scored a game-high 14 points for Grinnell as four Pioneers were in double figures.
UP NEXT
Ripon hosts Illinois College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 11.
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