DE PERE, Wis. -- Despite a strong fourth-quarter push, the Ripon College women's basketball team came up just short on the road Thursday night, falling 78-72 at St. Norbert inside the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center. The loss drops the Red Hawks to 4-1 on the season.

After trailing by as many as 17 in the second quarter, Ripon clawed its way back behind a dominant second half from junior Laney Havlovitz (Wild Rose, Wis., Wild Rose HS) and sophomore Halle Van Horn (Fredonia, Wis., Random Lake HS). The Red Hawks outscored the Green Knights 47-41 after halftime, trimming the deficit to as little as four in the final minute, but St. Norbert's efficient shooting from deep proved to be the difference.

Havlovitz put together one of her best performances of the season, pouring in a game-high 26 points while adding eight rebounds and five steals. Van Horn added a double-double of her own with 22 points and a team-best 12 rebounds, going 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Karsyn Nelson (Cottage Grove, Wis., Monona Grove HS) reached double figures as well with 10 points, four assists, and four steals.

Ripon shot 40% from the field and dominated the offensive glass with 21 second-chance rebounds, leading to 16 points. But St. Norbert countered with 50.9% shooting overall and a 10-for-20 mark from beyond the arc.

The Red Hawks displayed a strong charge in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points and continually pressuring St. Norbert defensively, but the Green Knights hit timely shots down the stretch to hold off the comeback.

Ripon now turns its attention to its next matchup on Tuesday, Nov 25, when the Red Hawks travel to UW-Platteville for a 5:30 pm tipoff.